L  I  B  R  A  R  Y 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

GIK'T    OK 


Received    /  QCT  27  1892     , 


AFLOAT  AND  ASHORE. 


BY    J.    FEN  I  MORE    COOPER 


Hoine -keeping  yonth  have  ever  homely  wit  ." 

Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona. 


C  ft  M  I'  L  E  TE 


NEW    EDITION. 


NEW    YORK: 
STRINGER      AND      TOWNSEND. 

1856. 


(ft 


AFLOAT  AND  ASHOEE. 


Emered.  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  tne  vfdr  1844,  by 
J  .    F  E  N  I  M  O  R  E   COOPER, 

in  the  clerk's  office  of  me  district  court  for  the  Northern  district 
ol'  New  York. 


f> 

1 


v  6 

PREFACE. 


writer  has  published  so  much  truth  which  the  world 
has  insisted  was  fiction,  and  so  much  fiction  which  has  been 
received  as  truth,  that,  in  the  present  instance,  he  is  resolved 
to  say  nothing  on  the  subject.  Each  of  his  readers  is  at 
liberty  to  believe  just  as  much,  or  as  little,  of  the  matter  here 
laid  before  him,  or  her,  as  may  suit  his,  or  her  notions,  pre 
judices,  knowledge  of  the  world,  or  ignorance.  If  anybody 
is  disposed  to  swear  he  knows  precisely  where  Clawbonny 
is,  that  he  was  well  acquainted  with  old  Mr.  Hardinge,  nay, 
has  often  heard  him  preach — let  him  make  his  affidavit,  in 
welcome.  Should  he  get  a  little  wide  of  the  mark,  it  will 
not  be  the  first  document  of  that  nature,  which  has  possessed 
the  same  weakness. 

It  is  possible  that  certain  captious  persons  may  be  disposed 
to  inquire  into  the  cui  bono  ?  of  such  a  book.  The  answer 
is  this.  Everything  which  can  convey  to  the  human  mind 
distinct  and  accurate  impressions  of  events,  social  facts,  pro 
fessional  peculiarities,  or  past  history,  whether  of  the  higher 
or  more  familiar  character,  is  of  use.  All  that  is  necessary 
i.--,  that  the  pictures  should  be  true  to  nature,  if  not  absolutely 
drawn  from  living  sitters.  The  knowledge  we  gain  by  our 
looser  reading,  often  becomes  serviceable  in  modes  and 
manners  little  anticipated  in  the  moments  when  it  is  acquired. 

Perhaps  the  greater  portion  of  all  our  peculiar  opinions 
have  their  foundation  in  prejudices.  These  prejudices  are 

(iii) 


IV  PREFACE. 

produced  in  consequence  of  its  being  out  of  the  power  of  any 
one  man  to  see,  or  know,  every  thing.  The  most  favoured 
mortal  must  receive  far  more  than  half  of  all  that  he  learns 
on  his  faith  in  others ;  and  it  may  aid  those  who  can  never 
be  placed  in  positions  to  judge  for  themselves  of  certain 
phases  of  men  and  things,  to  get  pictures  of  the  same,  drawn 
in  a  way  to  give  them  nearer  views  than  they  might  other 
wise  obtain.  This  is  the  greatest  benefit  of  all  light  litera 
ture  in  general,  it  being  possible  to  render  that  which  is 
purely  fictitious  even  more  useful  than  that  which  is  strictly 
true,  by  avoiding  extravagancies,  by  pourtraying  with  fide 
lity,  and,  as  our  friend  Marble  might  say,  by  "  generalizing'' 
with  discretion. 

This  country  has  undergone  many  important  changes  since 
the  commencement  of  the  present  century.  Some  of  these 
changes  have  been  for  the  better ;  others,  we  think  out  of  all 
question,  for  the  worse.  The  last  is  a  fact  that  can  be  known 
to  the  generation  which  is  coming  into  life,  by  report  only, 
and  these  pages  may  possibly  throw  some  little  light  on  both 
joints,  in  representing  things  as  they  were.  The  population 
of  the  republic  is  probably  something  more  than  eighteen 
millions  and  a  half  to-day ;  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred,  it  was  but  a  little  more  than  five 
millions.  In  1800,  the  population  of  New-York  was  some 
what  less  than  six  hundred  thousand  souls ;  to-day  it  is  pro 
bably  a  little  less  than  two  millions  seven  hundred  thousand 
souls.  In  1800,  the  town  of  New- York  had  sixty  thousand 
inhabitants,  whereas,  including  Brooklyn  and  Williamsburg, 
which  then  virtually  had  no  existence,  it  must  have  at  this 
moment  quite  four  hundred  thousand.  These  are  prodigious 
numerical  changes,  that  have  produced  changes  of  another 
sort.  Although  an  increase  of  numbers  does  not  necessarily 
infer  an  increase  of  high  civilization,  it  reasonably  leads  to 
the  expectation  of  great  melioration  in  the  commoner  com 
forts.  Such  has  been  the  result,  and  to  those  familiar  with 


PREFACE.  V 

facts  as  they  now  exist,  the  difference  will  probably  be  appa 
rent  in  these  pages. 

Although  the  moral  changes  in  American  society  have 
not  kept  even  pace  with  those  that  are  purely  physical,  many 
that  are  essential  have  nevertheless  occurred.  Of  all  the 
British  possessions  on  this  continent,  New- York,  after  its 
conquest  from  the  Dutch,  received  most  of  the  social  organi 
zation  of  the  mother  country.  Under  the  Dutch,  even,  it 
had  some  of  these  characteristic  peculiarities,  in  its  patroons ; 
the  lords  of  the  manor  of  the  New  Netherlands.  Some  of 
the  southern  colonies,  it  is  true,  had  their  caciques  and  other 
semi-feudal,  and  semi-savage  noblesse,  but  the  system  was 
of  short  continuance ;  the  peculiarities  of  that  section  of  the 
country,  arising  principally  from  the  existence  of  domestic 
slavery,  on  an  extended  scale.  With  New-York  it  was 
different.  A  conquered  colony,  the  mother  country  left  the 
impression  of  its  own  institutions  more  deeply  engraved 
than  on  any  of  the  settlements  that  were  commenced  by 
grants  to  proprietors,  or  under  charters  from  the  crown.  It 
was  strictly  a  royal  colony,  and  so  continued  to  be,  down  to 
the  hour  of  separation.  The  social  consequences  of  this 
state  of  things  were  to  be  traced  in  her  habits  until  the  cur 
rent  of  immigration  became  so  strong,  as  to  bring  with  it 
those  that  were  conflicting,  if  not  absolutely  antagonist.  The 
influence  of  these  two  sources  of  thought  is  still  obvious  to 
the  reflecting,  giving  rise  to  a  double  set  of  social  opinions ; 
one  of  which  bears  all  the  characteristics  of  its  New  England 
and  puritanical  origin,  while  the  other  may  be  said  to  come 
of  the  usages  and  notions  of  the  Middle  States,  proper. 

This  is  said  in  anticipation  of  certain  strictures  that  will 
be  likely  to  follow  some  of  the  incidents  of  our  story,  it  not 
being  always  deemed  an  essential  in  an  American  critic,  that 
he  should  understand  his  subject.  Too  many  of  them, 
indeed,  justify  the  retort  of  the  man  who  derided  the  claims 
to  knowledge  of  life,  set  up  by  a  neighbour,  that  "  had  been 
1* 


Vi  PREFACE. 

to  meetin'  and  had  been  to  mill.7'  We  can  all  obtain  some 
notions  of  the  portion  of  a  subject  that  is  placed  immediately 
before  our  eyes ;  the  difficulty  is  to  understand  that  which 
we  have  no  means  of  studying. 

On  the  subject  of  the  nautical  incidents  of  this  book,  we 
have  endeavoured  to  be  as  exact  as  our  authorities  will 
allow.  We  are  fully  aware  of  the  importance  of  writing 
what  the  world  thinks,  rather  than  what  is  true,  and  are  not 
conscious  of  any  very  palpable  errors  of  this  nature. 

It  is  no  more  than  fair  to  apprize  the  reader,  that  our  tale 
is  not  completed  in  the  First  Part,  or  the  volumes  that  are 
now  published.  This,  the  plan  of  the  book  would  not  per 
mit  :  but  we  can  promise  those  who  may  feel  any  interest  in 
the  subject,  that  the  season  shall  not  pass  away,  so  far  as  it 
may  depend  on  ourselves,  without  bringing  the  narrative  to 
a  close.  Poor  Captain  Wallingford  is  now  in  his  sixty-fifth 
year,  and  is  naturally  desirous  of  not  being  hung  up  long  on 
the  tenter-hooks  of  expectation,  so  near  the  close  of  life. 
The  old  gentleman  having  seen  much  and  suffered  much, 
is  entitled  to  end  his  days  in  peace.  In  this  mutual  frame  of 
mind  between  the  principal  and  his  editors,  the  public  shall 
have  no  cause  to  complain  of  unnecessary  delay,  whatever 
may  be  its  rights  of  the  same  nature  on  other  subjects. 

The  author — perhaps  editor  would  be  thf?  better  word — 
does  not  feel  himself  responsible  for  all  the  notions  advanced 
by  the  hero  of  this  tale,  and  it  may  be  as  well  to  say  as 
much.  That  one  born  in  the  Revolution  should  think  dif 
ferently  from  the  men  of  the  present  »Iay,  in  a  hundred 
things,  is  to  be  expected.  It  is  in  jusrC  this  difference  of 
opinion,  that  the  lessons  of  the  book  air.  to  be  found. 


AFLOAT    AND    ASHORE. 


CHAPTER   I. 

41  And  I — my  joy  of  life  is  fled, 
My  spirit's  power,  my  bosom's  glow ; 
The  raven  locks  that  grac'd  my  head, 
Wave  in  a  wreath  of  snow ! 
And  where  the  star  of  youth  arose, 
I  deem'd  life's  lingering  ray  should  close , 
And  those  lov'd  trees  my  tomb  o'ershade, 
Beneath  whose  arching  bowers  my  childhood  play'd." 

MRS.  HKMANS. 

1  WAS  born  in  a  valley  not  very  remote  from  the  sea. 
My  father  had  been  a  sailor  in  youth,  and  some  of  my 
earliest  recollections  are  connected  with  the  history  of  his 
adventures,  and  the  recollections  they  excited.  He  had 
been  a  boy  in  the  war  of  the  revolution,  and  had  seen  some 
service  in  the  shipping  of  that  period.  Among  other  scenes 
he  witnessed,  he  had  been  on  board  the  Trumbull,  in  her 
action  with  the  Watt — the  hardest-fought  naval  combat  of 
that  war — and  he  particularly  delighted  in  relating  its  inci 
dents.  He  had  been  wounded  in  the  battle,  and  bore  the 
marks  of  the  injury,  in  a  scar  that  slightly  disfigured  a  face, 
that,  without  this  blemish,  would  have  been  singularly  hand 
some.  My  mother,  after  my  poor  father's  death,  always 
spoke  of  even  this  scar  as  a  beauty  spot.  Agreeably  to  my 
own  recollections,  the  mark  scarcely  deserved  that  com 
mendation,  as  it  gave  one  side  of  the  face  a  grim  and  fierce 
appearance,  particularly  when  its  owner  was  displeased. 

My  father  died  on  the  farm  on  which  he  was  born,  and 
which  descended  to  him  from  his  great-grandfather,  an 
English  emigrant  that  had  purchased  it  of  the  Dutch  colonist 
who  had  originally  cleared  it  from  the  woods.  The  place 

•'7) 


8  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

was  called  Clawbonny,  which  some  said  was  good  Dutch 
others  bad  Dutch  ;  and,  now  and  then,  a  person  ventured  a 
conjecture  that  it  might  be  Indian.  Bonny  it  was,  in  one 
sense  at  least,  for  a  lovelier  farm  there  is  not  on  the  whole 
of  the  wide  surface  of  the  Empire  State.  What  does  not 
always  happen  in  this  wicked  world,  it  was  as  good  as  it  was 
handsome.  It  consisted  of  three  hundred  and  seventy-two 
acres  of  first-rate  land,  either  arable,  or  of  rich  river  bottom 
in  meadows,  and  of  more  than  a  hundred  of  rocky  mountain 
side,  that  was  very  tolerably  covered  with  wood.  The  first 
of  our  family  who  owned  the  place  had  built  a  substantial 
one-story  stone  house,  that  bears  the  date  of  1707  on  one  :>f 
ts  gables  ;  and  to  which  each  of  his  successors  had  added 
a  iiuie,  until  the  whole  structure  got  to  resemble  a  cluster  of 
cottages  thrown  together  without  the  least  attention  to  order 
or  regularity.  There  were  a  porch,  a  front  door,  and  a 
lawn,  however;  the  latter  containing  half  a  dozen  acres  of 
a  soil  as  black  as  one's  hat,  and  nourishing  eight  or  ten  elms 
that  were  scattered  about,  as  if  their  seeds  had  been  sown 
broad-cast.  In  addition  to  the  trees,  and  a  suitable  garni 
ture  of  shrubbery,  this  lawn  was  coated  with  a  sward  that, 
in  the  proper  seasons,  rivalled  all  I  have  read,  or  imagined, 
of  the  emerald  and  shorn  slopes  of  the  Swiss  valleys. 

Clawbonny,  while  it  had  all  the  appearance  of  being  the 
residence  of  an  affluent  agriculturist,  had  none  of  the  preten 
sion  of  these  later  times.  The  house  had  an  air  of  substan 
tial  comfort  without,  an  appearance  that  its  interior  in  no 
mannner  contradicted.  The  ceilings  were  low,  it  is  true, 
nor  were  the  rooms  particularly  large ;  but  the  latter  were 
warm  in  winter,  cool  in  summer,  and  tidy,  neat  and  respect 
able  all  the  year  round.  Both  the  parlours  had  carpets,  as 
had  the  passages  and  all  the  better  bed-rooms ;  and  there 
were  an  old-fashioned  chintz  settee,  well  stuffed  and  cush 
ioned,  and  curtains  in  the  "  big  parlour,"  as  we  called  the 
best  apartment, — the  pretending  name  of  drawing-room  not 
having  reached  our  valley  as  far  back  as  the  year  1796,  or 
that  in  which  my  recollections  of  the  place,  as  it  then  existed, 
are  the  most  vivid  and  distinct. 

We  had  orchards,  meadows,  and  ploughed  fields  all 
around  us ;  while  the  barns,  granaries,  styes,  and  other 
buildings  of  the  farm,  were  of  solid  stone,  like  the  dwelling, 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  9 

and  all  in  capital  condition.  In  addition  to  the  place,  which 
he  inherited  from  my  grandfather,  quite  without  any  encum 
brance,  wdl  stocked  and  supplied  \tith  utensils  of  all  sorts, 
my  father  had  managed  to  bring  with  him  from  sea  some 
fourteen  or  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  which  he  carefully  in 
vested  in  mortgages  in  the  county.  He  got  twenty-seven 
hundred  pounds  currency  with  my  mother,  similarly  be 
stowed  ;  and,  two  or  three  great  landed  proprietors,  and  as 
many  retired  merchants  from  York,  excepted,  Captain  Wal- 
lingford  was  generally  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  stiffest  men 
in  Ulster  county.  I  do  not  know  exactly  how  true  was  this 
report ;  though  I  never  saw  anything  but  the  abundance  of  a 
better  sort  of  American  farm  under  the  paternal  roof,  and  I 
know  that  the  poor  were  never  sent  away  empty-handed. 
It  is  true  that  our  wine  was  made  of  currants  ;  but  it  was 
delicious,  and  there  was  always  a  sufficient  stock  in  the 
cellar  to  enable  us  to  drink  it  three  or  four  years  old.  My 
father,  however,  had  a  small  private  collection  of  his  own, 
out  of  which  he  would  occasionally  produce  a  bottle ;  and  I 
remember  to  have  heard  Governor  George  Clinton,  after 
wards  Vice  President,  who  was  an  Ulster  county  man,  and 
who  sometimes  stopped  at  Clawbonny  in  passing,  say  that  it 
was  excellent  East  India  Madeira.  As  for  clarets,  burgun 
dy,  hock  and  champagne,  they  were  wines  then  unknown  in 
America,  except  on  the  tables  of  some  of  the  principal  mer 
chants,  and,  here  and  there,  on  that  of  some  travelled  gen- 
tleman  of  an  estate  larger  than  common.  When  I  say  that 
Governor  George  Clinton  used  to  stop  occasionally,  and 
taste  my  father's  Madeira,  I  do  not  wish  to  boast  of  being 
classed  with  those  who  then  composed  the  gentry  of  the/ 
state.  To  this,  in  that  day,  we  c<  uld  hardly  aspire,  though 
the  substantial  hereditary  property  of  my  family  gave  us  a 
local  consideration  that  placed  us  a  good  deal  above  the 
station  of  ordinary  yeomen.  Had  we  lived  in  one  of  the 
Jarge  towns,  our  association  would  unquestionably  have 
been  with  those  who  are  usually  considered  to  be  one  or  two 
degrees  beneath  the  highest  class.  These  distinctions  were 
much  more  marked,  immediately  after  the  war  of  the  revo 
lution,  than  they  are  to-day ;  and  they  are  more  marked 
to-day,  even,  than  all  but  the  most  lucky,  or  the  most  meri 
torious,  whichever  fortune  dignifies,  are  willing  to  allow. 


10  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

The  courtship  between  my  parents  occurred  while  my 
father  was  at  home,  to  be  cured  of  the  wounds  he  had  re 
ceived  in  the  engagement  between  the  Trumbull  and  the 
Watt.  I  have  always  supposed  this  was  the  moving  cause 
why  my  mother  fancied  that  the  grim-looking  scar  on  the 
left  side  of  my  father's  face  was  so  particularly  becoming. 
The  battle  was  fought  in  June  1780,  and  my  parents  were 
married  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year.  My  father  did  not 
go  to  sea  again  until  after  my  birth,  which  took  place  the 
very  day  that  Cornwallis  capitulated  at  Yorktown.  These 
combined  events  set  the  young  sailor  in  motion,  for  he  felt 
he  had  a  family  to  provide  for,  and  he  wished  to  make  one 
more  mark  on  the  enemy  in  return  for  the  b?auty-spot  his 
wife  so  gloried  in.  He  accordingly  got  a  commission  in  a 
privateer,  made  two  or  three  fortunate  cruises,  and  was  able 
at  the  peace  to  purchase  a  prize-brig,  which  he  sailed,  as 
master  and  owner,  until  the  year  1790,  when  he  was  re 
called  to  the  paternal  roof  by  the  death  of  my  grandfather. 
Being  an  only  son,  the  captain,  as  my  father  was  uniformly 
called,  inherited  the  land,  stock,  utensils  and  crops,  as  already 
mentioned  ;  while  the  six  thousand  pounds  currency  that 
were  "  at  use,"  went  to  my  two  aunts,  who  were  thougnt  to 
be  well  married,  to  men  in  their  own  class  of  life,  in  adjacent 
counties. 

My  father  never  went  to  sea  after  he  inherited  Clawbon- 
ny.  From  that  time  down  to  the  day  of  his  death,  he 
remained  on  his  farm,  with  the  exception  of  a  single  winter 
passed  in  Albany  as  one  of  the  representatives  of  the  county. 
In  his  day,  it  was  a  credit  to  a  man  to  represent  a  county, 
and  to  hold  office  under  the  State  ;  though  the  abuse  of  the 
elective  principle,  not  to  say  of  the  appointing  power,  has 
since  brought  about  so  great  a  change.  Then,  a  member 
of  congress  was  somebody  ;  now,  he  is  only — a  member  of 
congress. 

We  were  but  two  surviving  children,  three  of  the  family 
dying  infants,  leaving  only  my  sister  Grace  and  myself  to 
console  our  mother  in  her  widowhood.  The  dire  accident 
which  placed  her  in  this,  the  saddest  of  all  conditions  for  a 
woman  who  had  been  a  happy  wife,  occurred  in  the  year 
1794,  when  I  was  in  my  thirteenth  year,  and  Grace  was 
turned  of  eleven.  It  may  be  well  to  relate  the  particulars. 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  11 

There  was  a  mill,  just  where  the  stream  that  runs  thi  ouf  h 
our  valley  tumbles  down  to  a  level  below  that  on  which  tl-e 
farm  lies,  and  empties  itself  into  a  small  tributary  of  the 
Hudson.  This  mill  was  on  our  property,  and  was  a  source 
of  great  convenience  and  of  some  profit  to  my  father.  There 
he  ground  all  the  grain  that  was  consumed  for  domestic  pur 
poses,  for  several  miles  around ;  and  the  tolls  enabled  him 
to  fatten  his  porkers  and  beeves,  in  a  way  to  give  both  a  sort 
of  established  character.  In  a  word,  the  mill  was  the  con 
centrating  point  for  all  the  products  of  the  farm,  there  being 
a  little  landing  on  the  margin  of  the  creek  that  put  up  from 
the  Hudson,  whence  a  sloop  sailed  weekly  for  town.  My 
father  passed  half  his  time  about  the  mill  and  landing,  super- 
intending  hie  workmen,  and  particularly  giving  directions 
about  the  fitting  of  the  sloop,  which  was  his  property  also, 
and  about  the  gear  of  the  mill.  He  was  clever,  certainly, 
and  had  made  several  useful  suggestions  to  the  millwright 
who  occasionally  came  to  examine  and  repair  the  works  ; 
but  he  was  by  no  means  so  accurate  a  mechanic  as  he  fan 
cied  himself  to  be.  He  had  invented  some  new  mode  of 
arresting  the  movement,  and  of  setting  the  machinery  in 
motion  when  necessary ;  what  it  was,  I  never  knew,  for  it 
was  not  named  at  Clawbonny  after  the  fatal  accident  oc 
curred.  One  day,  however,  in  order  to  convince  the  mill 
wright  of  the  excellence  of  this  improvement,  my  father 
caused  the  machinery  to  be  stopped,  and  then  placed  his  own 
weight  upon  the  large  wheel,  in  order  to  manifest  the  sense 
he  felt  in  the  security  of  his  invention.  He  was  in  the  very 
act  of  laughing  exultingly  at  the  manner  in  which  the  mill 
wright  shook  his  head  at  the  risk  he  ran,  when  the  arresting 
power  lost  its  control  of  the  machinery,  the  heavy  head  of 
water  burst  into  the  buckets,  and  the  wheel  whirled  round 
carrying  my  unfortunate  father  with  it.  I  was  an  eye-wit 
ness  of  the  whole,  and  saw  the  face  of  my  parent,  as  the 
wheel  turned  it  from  me,  still  expanded  in  mirth.  There 
was  but  one  revolution  made,  when  the  wright  succeeded  in 
stopping  the  works.  This  brought  the  great  wheel  back 
nearly  to  its  original  position,  and  I  fairly  shouted  with  hys 
terical  delight  when  I  saw  my  father  standing  in  his  tracks, 
as  it  might  be,  seemingly  unhurt.  Unhurt  he  would  have 
been,  though  he  must  have  passed  a  fearful  keel-hauling,  but 


12  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

for  one  circumstance.  He  had  held  on  to  the  wheel  with 
the  tenacity  of  a  seaman,  since  letting  go  his  hold  would 
have  thrown  him  down  a  cliff  of  near  a  hundred  feet  in 
depth,  and  he  actually  passed  between  the  wheel  and  the 
planking  beneath  it  unharmed,  although  there  was  only  an 
inch  or  two  to  spare ;  but  in  rising  from  this  fearful  strait, 
his  head  had  been  driven  between  a  projecting  beam  and 
one  of  the  buckets,  in  a  way  to  crush  one  temple  in  upon 
the  brain.  So  swift  and  sudden  had  been  the  whole  thing, 
that,  on  turning  the  wheel,  his  lifeless  body  was  still  incli 
ning  on  its  periphery,  retained  erect,  I  believe,  in  conse 
quence  of  some  part  of  his  coat  getting  attached  to  the  head 
of  a  nail.  This  was  the  first  serious  sorrow  of  my  life.  I 
had  always  regarded  my  father  as  one  of  the  fixtures  of  the 
world  ;  as  a  part  of  the  great  system  of  the  universe  ;  and 
had  never  contemplated  his  death  as  a  possible  thing.  That 
another  revolution  might  occur,  and  carry  the  country  back 
under  the  dominion  of  the  British  crown,  would  have  seemed 
to  me  far  more  possible  than  that  my  father  could  die.  Bitter 
truth  now  convinced  me  of  the  fallacy  of  such  notions. 

It  was  months  and  months  before  I  ceased  to  dream  of 
this  frightful  scene.  At  my  age,  all  the  feelings  were  fresh 
and  plastic,  and  grief  took  strong  hold  of  my  heart.  Grace 
and  I  used  to  look  at  each  other  without  speaking,  long 
after  the  event,  the  tears  starting  to  my  eyes,  and  rolling 
down  her  cheeks,  our  emotions  being  the  only  communica 
tions  between  us,  but  communications  that  no  uttered  words 
could  have  made  so  plain.  Even  now,  I  allude  to  my  mo 
ther's  anguish  with  trembling.  She  was  sent  for  to  the 
house  of  the  miller,  where  the  body  lay,  and  arrived  unap- 
prised  of  the  extent  of  the  evil.  Never  can  I — never  shall 
I  forget  the  outbreakings  of  her  sorrow,  when  she  learned 
the  whole  of  the  dreadful  truth.  She  was  in  fainting  fits  for 
hours,  one  succeeding  another,  and  then  her  grief  found 
tongue.  There  was  no  term  of  endearment  that  the  heart 
of  woman  could  dictate  to  her  speech,  that  was  not  lavished 
on  the  lifeless  clay.  She  called  the  dead  u  her  Miles,"  "  her 
beloved  Miles,"  "her  husband,"  "her  own  darling  hus 
band,"  and  by  such  other  endearing  epithets.  Once  she 
seemed  as  if  resolute  to  arouse  the  sleeper  from  his  endless 
trance,  and  she  said,  solemnly,  "Father — dear,  dearest 


AFLOAT      AND      A  8  II  0  R  K  .  13 

father !"  appealing  as  it  might  be  to  the  parent  of  her  chil 
dren,  the  tenderest  and  most  comprehensive  of  all  woman's 
terms  of  endearment — **  Father — dear,  dearest  father  !  open 
your  eyes  and  look  upon  your  babes — your  precious  girl, 
and  noble  boy  !  Do  not  thus  shut  out  their  sight  for  ever  !" 

But  it  was  in  vain.  There  lay  the  lifeless  corpse,  as  in 
sensible  as  if  the  spirit  of  God  had  never  had  a  dwelling 
within  it.  The  principal  injury  had  been  received  on  that 
much-prized  scar;  and  again  and  again  did  my  poor  mother 
kiss  both,  as  if  her  caresses  might  yet  restore  her  husband 
to  life.  All  would  not  do.  The  same  evening,  the  body 
was  carried  to  the  dwelling,  and  three  days  later  it  was  laid 
in  the  church-yard,  by  the  side  of  three  generations  of  fore 
fathers,  at  a  distance  of  only  a  mile  from  Clawbonny. 
That  funeral  service,  too,  made  a  deep  impression  on  my 
memory.  We  had  some  Church  of  England  people  in  the 
valley ;  and  old  Miles  Wallingford,  the  first  of  the  name,  a 
suOofantial  English  franklin,  had  been  influenced  in  his 
choice  of  a  purchase  by  the  fact  that  one  of  Queen  Anne's 
churches  stood  so  near  the  farm.  To  that  little  church,  a 
tiny  edifice  of  stone,  with  a  hign,  pointed  roof,  without  stee 
ple,  bell,  or  vestry-room,  had  three  generations  of  us  been 
taken  to  be  christened,  and  three,  including  my  father,  had 
been  taken  to  be  buried.  Excellent,  kind-hearted,  just- 
rninded  Mr.  Hardinge  read  the  funeral  service  over  the  man 
whom  his  own  father  had,  in  the  same  humble  edifice,  chris 
tened.  Our  neighbourhood  has  much  altered  of  late  yea~s  ; 
but,  then,  few  higher  than  mere  labourers  dwelt  among-  us, 
who  had  not  some  sort  of  hereditary  claim  to  be  beloved. 
So  it  was  with  our  clergyman,  whose  father  had  been  his 
predecessor,  having  actually  married  my  grand-parents. 
The  son  had  united  my  father  and  mother,  and  now  he  wa? 
called  on  to  officiate  at  the  funeral  obsequies  of  the  first. 
Grace  and  I  sobbed  as  if  our  hearts  would  break,  the  whole 
time  we  were  in  the  church  ;  and  my  poor,  sensitive,  nervous 
little  sister  actually  shrieked  as  she  heard  the  sound  of  the 
first  clod  that  fell  upon  the  coffin.  Our  mother  was  spared 
that  trying  scene,  finding  it  impossible  to  support  it.  She 
remained'at  home,  on  her  knees,  most  of  the  day  on  which 
the  funeral  occurred. 

^ime  soothed  our  sorrows,  though  my  mother,  a  woman 
2 


14  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

of  more  than  common  sensibility,  or,  it  were  better  to  say 
of  uncommon  affections,  never  entirely  recovered  from  the 
effects  of  her  irreparable  loss.  She  had  loved  too  well,  too 
devotedly,  too  engrossingly,  ever  to  think  of  a  second  mar 
riage,  and  lived  only  to  care  for  the  interests  of  Miles  Wal- 
lingford's  chi\dren.  I  firmly  believe  we  were  more  beloved 
because  we  stood  in  this  relation  to  the  deceased,  than  be 
cause  we  were  her  own  natural  offspring.  Her  health  became 
gradually  undermined,  and,  three  years  after  the  accident 
of  the  mill,  Mr.  Hardinge  laid  her  at  my  father's  side.  I 
was  now  sixteen,  and  can  better  describe  what  passed  during 
the  last  days  of  her  existence,  than  what  took  place  at  the 
death  of  her  husband.  Grace  and  I  were  apprised  of  what 
was  so  likely  to  occur,  quite  a  month  before  the  fatal  moment 
arrived ;  and  we  were  not  so  much  overwhelmed  with 
sudden  grief  as  we  had  been  on  the  first  great  occasion  of 
family  sorrow,  though  we  both  felt  our  loss  keenly,  and  my 
sister,  I  think  I  may  almost  say,  inextinguishably.  Mr. 
Hardinge  had  us  both  brought  to  the  bed-side,  to  listen  to  the 
parting  advice  of  our  dying  parent,  and  to  be  impressed  with 
a  scene  that  is  always  healthful,  if  rightly  improved.  "  You 
baptized  these  two  dear  children,  good  Mr.  Hardinge,"  she 
said,  in  a  voice  that  was  already  enfeebled  by  physical  de 
cay,  "  and  you  signed  them  with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  in 
token  of  Christ's  death  for  them ;  and  I  now  ask  of  your 
friendship  and  pastoral  care  to  see  that  they  are  not  neglected 
at  the  most  critical  period  of  their  lives — that  when  impres 
sions  are  the  deepest,  and  yet  the  most  easily  made.  God 
will  reward  all  your  kindness  to  the  orphan  children  of  your 
friends."  The  excellent  divine,  a  man  who  lived  more  for 
others  than  for  himself,  made  the  required  promises,  and  he 
soul  of  my  mother  took  its  flight  in  peace. 

Neither  my  sister  nor  myself"  grieved  as  deeply  for  the 
loss  of  this  last  of  our  parents,  as  we  did  for  that  of  the  first. 
We  had  both  seen  so  many  instances  of  her  devout  good 
ness,  had  been  witnesses  of  so  great  a  triumph  of  her  faith, 
as  to  feel  an  intimate,  though  silent,  persuasion  that  her 
death  was  merely  a  passage  to  a  better  state  of  existence — 
that  it  seemed  selfish  to  regret.  Still,  we  wept  and  mourned, 
even  while,  iu  one  sense,  I  think  we  rejoiced.  She  was 
relieved  frort.  >Miich  bodily  suffering,  and  I  remember,  wher 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  16 

I  went  to  take  a  last  look  at  her  beloved  face,  that  I  gazed 
on  its  calm  serenity  with  a  feeling  akin  to  exultation,  as  I 
recollected  that  pain  could  no  longer  exercise  dominion  over 
her  frame,  and  that  her  spirit  was  then  dwelling  in  bliss. 
Bitter  regrets  came  later,  it  is  true,  and  these  were  fully 
shared — nay,  more  than  shared — by  Grace. 

After  the  death  of  my  father,  I  had  never  bethought  me 
of  the  manner  in  which  he  had  disposed  of  his  property.  I 
heard  something  said  of  his  will,  and  gleaned  a  little,  acci 
dentally,  of  the  forms  that  had  been  gone  through  in  proving 
the  instrument,  and  of  obtaining  its  probate.  Shortly  after 
my  mother's  death,  however,  Mr.  Hardinge  had  a  free  con 
versation  with  both  me  and  Grace  on  the  subject,  when  we 
learned,  for  the  first  time,  the  disposition  that  had  been 
made.  My  father  had  bequeathed  to  me  the  farm,  mill, 
landing,  sloop,  stock,  utensils,  crops,  &c.  &c.,  in  full  pro 
perty  ;  subject,  however,  to  my  mother's  use  of  the  whole 
until  I  attained  my  majority ;  after  which  I  was  to  give  her 
complete  possession  of  a  comfortable  wing  of  the  house, 
which  had  every  convenience  for  a  small  family  within 
itself,  certain  privileges  in  the  fields,  dairy,  styes,  orchards, 
meadows,  granaries,  &c.,  and  to  pay  her  three  hundred 
pounds  currency,  per  annum,  in  money.  Grace  had  four 
thousand  pounds  that  were  "  at  use,"  and  I  had  all  the  re 
mainder  of  the  personal  property,  which  yielded  about  five 
hundred  dollars  a-year.  As  the  farm,  sloop,  mill,  ending, 
&c.,  produced  a  net  annual  income  of  rather  more  than  a 
thousand  dollars,  besides  all  that  was  consumed  in  house 
keeping,  I  was  very  well  off,  in  the  way  of  temporal  things, 
for  one  who  had  been  trained  in  habits  as  simple  as  those 
which  reigned  at  Clawbonny. 

My  father  had  left  Mr.  Hardinge  the  executor,  and  my 
mother  an  executrix  of  his  will,  with  survivorship.  He  had 
also  made  the  same  provision  as  respected  the  guardians. 
Thus  Grace  and  I  became  the  wards  of  the  clergyman  alone 
on  the  death  of  our  last  remaining  parent.  This  was  grateful 
to  us  both,  for  we  both  truly  loved  this  good  man,  and,  what 
was  more,  we  loved  his  children.  Of  these  there  were  two, 
of  ages  corresponding  very  nearly  with  our  own ;  Rupert 
Hardinge  being  not  quite  a  year  older  than  I  was  myself, 
and  Lucy,  his  sister,  about  six  months  younger  than  Grace. 


1G  AFLOAT      ANI>     A  SHORE. 

We  wore  all  four  strongly  attached  to  each  other,  and  had 
been  so  from  infancy,  Mr.  Hardinge  having  had  charge  of 
my  education  as  soon  as  I  was  taken  from  a  woman's 
school. 

I  cannot  say,  however,  that  Rupert  Hardinge  was  ever  a 
boy  to  give  his  father  the  delight  that  a  studious,  well-con 
ducted,  considerate  and  industrious  child,  has  it  so  much  in 
his  power  to  yield  to  his  parent.  Of  the  two,  I  .was  much 
the  ijest  scholar,  and  had  been  pronounced  by  Mr.  Hardinge 
lit  to  enter  college,  a  twelvemonth  before  my  mother  died  j 
though  she  declined  sending  me  to  Yale,  the  institution 
selected  by  my  father,  until  my  school -fellow  was  similarly 
prepared,  it  having  been  her  intention  to  give  the  clergy 
man's  son  a  thorough  education,  in  furtherance  of  his  father's 
views  of  bringing  him  up  to  the  church.  This  delay,  so 
well  and  kindly  meant,  had  the  effect  of  changing  the  whole 
course  of  my  subsequent  life. 

My  father,  it  seems,  wished  to  make  a  lawyer  of  me,  with 
the  natural  desire  of  seeing  me  advanced  to  some  honoura 
ble  position  in  the  State.  But  I  was  averse  to  anything  like 
serious  mental  labour,  and  was  greatly  delighted  when  my 
mother  determined  to  keep  me  out  of  college  a  twelvemonth, 
in  order  that  my  friend  Rupert  might  be  my  classmate.  It 
is  true  I  learned  quick,  and  was  fond  of  reading ;  but  the 
first  I  could  not  very  well  help,  while  the  reading  I  liked 
was  that  which  amused,  rather  than  that  which  instructed 
me.  As  for  Rupert,  though  not  absolutely  dull,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  absolutely  clever  in  certain  things,  he  disliked 
mental  labour  even  more  than  myself,  while  he  liked  self- 
restraint  of  any  sort  far  less.  His  father  was  sincerely  pious, 
and  regarded  his  sacred  office  with  too  much  reverence  to 
think  of  bringing  up  a  "  cosset-priest,n  though  he  prayed 
and  hoped  that  his  son's  inclinations,  under  the  guidance  of 
Providence,  would  take  that  direction.  He  seldom  spoke  on 
the  subject  himself,  but  I  ascertained  his  wishes  through  my 
confidev  tial  dialogues  with  his  children.  Lucy  seemed  de 
lighted  with  the  idea,  looking  forward  to  the  time  when  he- 
brother  would  officiate  in  the  same  desk  where  her  father 
and  grandfather  had  now  conducted  the  worship  of  God  lor 
more  than  half  a  century  ;  a  period  of  time  that,  to  us  young 
people,  seemed  to  lead  us  back  to  the  dark  ages  of  tlie  couo- 


AFLOAT      A  >T  D      ASHORE.  17 

try.  And  all  this  the  dear  girl  wished  for  her  brother,  in 
Connection  with  his  spiritual  rather  than  his  temporal  inte 
rests,  inasmuch  as  the  living  was  worth  only  a  baaiy-paid 
salary  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  currency  per  annum, 
together  with  a  small  but  comfortable  rectory,  ana  a  glebe 
of  five-and-twenty  acres  of  very  tolerable  land,  which  it  was 
thought  no  sin,  in  that  day,  for  the  clergyman  to  work  by 
means  of  two  male  slaves,  whom,  with  as  many  females,  he 
had  inherited  as  part  of  the  chattels  of  his  mother. 

I  had  a  dozen  slaves  also ;  negroes  who,  as  a  race,  had 
been  in  the  family  almost  as  long  as  Ciawbonny.  About 
half  of  these  blacks  were  singularly  laborious  and  useful, 
viz.,  four  males  and  three  of  the  females ;  but  several  of  the 
remainder  were  enjoying  otivm,  and  not  altogether  without 
dignitate,  as  heir-looms  to  be  fed,  clothed  and  lodged,  for  the 
good,  or  evil,  they  had  done.  There  were  some  small-fry 
in  our  kitchens,  too,  that  used  to  roll  about  on  the  grass, 
and  munch  fruit  in  the  summer,  ad  libitum;  and  stand  so 
close  in  the  chimney-corners  in  cold  weather,  that  I  have 
often  fancied  they  must  have  been,  as  a  legal  wit  of  New 
York  once  pronounced  certain  eastern  coal-mines  to  be, 
incombustible.  These  negroes  all  went  by  the  patronymic 
of  Ciawbonny,  there  being  among  them  Hector  Ciawbon 
ny,  Venus  Ciawbonny,  Csesar  Ciawbonny,  Rose  Ciawbon 
ny —  who  was  as  black  as  a  crow — Romeo  Ciawbonny, 
and  Julietta,  commonly  called  Julee,  Ciawbonny  ;  who  were, 
with  Pharaoh,  Potiphar,  Sampson  and  Nebuchadnezzar,  all 
Clawbonnys  in  the  last  resort.  Neb,  as  the  namesake  of 
the  herbiferous  king  of  Babylon  was  called,  was  about  my 
own  age,  and  had  been  a  sort  of  humble  playfellow  from 
infancy ;  and  even  now,  when  it  was  thought  proper  to  set 
him  about  the  more  serious  toil  which  was  to  mark  his  hum 
ble  career,  I  often  interfered  to  call  him  away  to  be  my 
companion  with  the  rod,  the  fowling-piece,  or  in  the  boat, 
of  which  we  had  one  that  frequently  descended  the  creek, 
and  navigated  the  Hudson  for  miles  at  a  time,  under  my 
command.  The  lad,  by  such  means,  and  through  an  off 
hand  friendliness  of  manner  that  I  rather  think  was  charac 
teristic  of  my  habits  at  that  day,  got  to  love  me  as  a  brother 
or  comrade.  It  is  not  easy  to  desci'ibe  the  affection  of  an 
attached  slave,  which  has  blended  with  it  the  pride  of  a  ^ar- 
2* 


!  S  A  F  L  f.  >  T      J  N  1>      A  S  H  O  R  Z  . 

iisan,  the  solicitude  of  a  parent,  and  the  blindness  of  a  lover. 
I  do  think  Neb  had  more  gratification  in  believing  himsel 
particularly  belonging  to  Master  Miles,  than  I  ever  had  ir 
any  quality  or  thing  I  could  call  my  own.  Neb,  moreover, 
liked  a  vagrant  life,  and  greatly  encouraged  Rupert  and 
myself  in  idleness,  and  a  desultory  manner  of  misspending 
hours  that  could  never  be  recalled.  The  first  time  I  ever 
played  truant  was  under  the  patronage  of  Neb,  who  decoyed 
me  away  from  my  books  to  go  nutting  on  the  mountain 
stoutly  maintaining  that  chestnuts  were  just  as  good  as  thr 
spelling-book,  or  any  primer  that  could  be  bought  in  York. 

I  have  forgotten  to  mention  that  the  death  of  my  mother, 
which  occurred  in  the  autumn,  brought  about  an  immediate 
change  in  the  condition  of  our  domestic  economy.  Grace 
was  too  young,  being  only  fourteen,  to  preside  over  such  a 
household,  and  I  could  be  of  little  use,  either  in  the  way  of 
directing  or  advising.  Mr.  Hardinge,  who  had  received  a 
letter  to  that  effect  from  the  dying  saint,  that  was  only  put 
into  his  hand  the  day  after  the  funeral,  with  a  view  to  give 
her  request  the  greater  weight,  rented  the  rectory,  and  camo 
to  Clawbonny  to  live,  bringing  with  him  both  his  children. 
My  mother  knew  that  his  presence  would  be  of  the  greatest 
service  to  the  orphans  she  left  behind  her ;  while  the  money 
saved  from  his  own  household  expenses  might  enable  this 
single-minded  minister  of  the  altar  to  lay  by  a  hundred  or 
two  for  Lucy,  who,  at  his  demise,  might  otherwise  be  lea 
without  a  penny,  as  it  was  then  said,  cents  not  having  yel 
come  much  into  fashion. 

This  removal  gave  Grace  and  me  much  pleasure,  for  she 
was  as  fond  of  Lucy  as  I  was  of  Rupert,  and,  to  tell  the 
truth,  so  was  I,  too.  Four  happier  young  people  were  not 
to  be  found  in  the  State  than  we  thus  became,  each  and  all 
of  us  finding  in  the  arrangement  exactly  the  association 
which  was  most  agreeable  to  our  feelings.  Previously,  we 
only  saw  each  other  every  day ;  now,  we  saw  each  other 
all  day.  At  night  we  separated  at  an  early  hour,  it  is  true, 
each  having  his  or  her  room;  but  it  was  to  meet  at  a  still 
earlier  hour  the  next  morning,  and  to  resume  our  amuse 
ments  in  company.  From  study,  all  of  us  were  relieved  for 
a  month  or  two,  and  we  wandered  through  the  fields,  nutted, 
gathered  fruit,  or  saw  others  gather  it  as  well  as  the  crops, 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  19 

taking  as  much  exercise  as  possible  in  the  open  air,  equally 
for  the  good  of  our  bodies,  and  the  lightening  of  our  spirits. 

I  do  not  think  vanity,  or  any  feeling  connected  with  self- 
love,  misleads  me,  when  I  say  it  would  have  been  difficult 
to  find  four  young  people  more  likely  to  attract  the  attention 
of  a  passer-by,  than  we  four  were,  in  the  fall  of  1797.  As 
for  Rupert  Hardinge,  he  resembled  his  mother,  and  was  sin 
gularly  handsome  in  face,  as  well  as  graceful  in  movements. 
He  had  a  native  gentility  of  air,  of  which  he  knew  how  to 
make  the  most,  and  a  readiness  of  tongue  and  a  flow  of 
spirits  that  rendered  him  an  agreeable,  if  not  a  very  instruc 
tive  companion.  I  was  not  ill-looking,  myself,  though  far 
from  possessing  the  striking  countenance  of  my  young  asso 
ciate.  In  manliness,  strength  and  activity,  however,  I  had 
essentially  the  advantage  over  him,  few  youths  of  my  age 
surpassing  me  in  masculine  qualities  of  this  nature,  after  I 
had  passed  my  twelfth  year.  My  hair  was  a  dark  auburn, 
and  it  was  the  only  thing  about  my  face,  perhaps,  that  would 
cause  a  stranger  to  notice  it ;  but  this  hung  about  my  tem 
ples  and  down  my  neck  in  rich  ringlets,  until  frequent  appli 
cations  of  the  scissors  brought  it  into  something  like  subjec 
tion.  It  never  lost  its  beauty  entirely,  and  though  now 
white  as  snow,  it  is  still  admired.  But  Grace  was  the  one  of 
the  party  whose  personal  appearance  would  be  most  likely 
to  attract  attention.  Her  face  beamed  with  sensibility  and 
feeling,  being  one  of  those  countenances  on  which  nature 
sometimes  delights  to  impress  the  mingled  radiance,  sweet 
ness,  truth  and  sentiment,  that  men  ascribe  to  angels.  Her 
hair  was  lighter  than  mine  ;  her  eyes  of  a  heavenly  blue,  all 
softness  and  tenderness ;  her  cheeks  just  of  the  tint  of  the 
palest  of  the  coloured  roses ;  and  her  smile  so  full  of  gentle 
ness  and  feeling,  that,  again  and  again,  it  has  controlled  my 
ruder  and  more  violent  emotions,  when  they  were  fast  get 
ting  the  mastery.  In  form,  some  persons  might  have  thought 
Grace,  in  a  slight  degree,  too  fragile,  though  her  limbs  would 
have  been  delicate  models  for  the  study  of  a  sculptor. 

Lucy,  too,  had  certainly  great  perfection,  particularly  in 
figure ;  though  in  the  crowd  of  beauty  that  has  been  so  pro 
fusely  lavished  on  the  youthful  in  this  country,  she  would 
not  have  been  at  all  remarked  in  a  large  assembly  of  young 
American  girls.  Her  face  was  pleasing  nevertheless  ;  and 


20  AFLOAT      AND      ASUORI. 

there  was  a  piquant  contrast  between  the  raven  blackness 
of  her  huir,  the  deep  blue  of  her  eyes,  and  the  dazzling 
whiteness  of  her  skin.  Her  colour,  too,  was  high,  and 
changeful  with  her  emotions.  As  for  teeth,  she  had  a  set 
that  one  might  have  travelled  weeks  to  meet  with  their 
equals  ,•  and,  though  she  seemed  totally  unconscious  of  the 
advantage,  she  had  a  natural  manner  of  showing  them,  that 
•vould  have  made  a  far  less  interesting  face  altogether  agree 
able.  Her  voice  and  laugh,  too,  when  happy  and  free  from 
:are,  were  joyousness  itself. 

It  would  be  saying  too  much,  perhaps,  to  assert  that  any 
ajman  being  was  ever  totally  indifferent  to  his  or  her  per- 
*onal  appearance.  Still,  I  do  not  think  either  of  our  party 
Rupert  alone  excepted,  ever  thought  on  the  subject,  unless 
as  it  related  to  others,  down  to  the  period  of  which  I  am  now 
writing.  I  knew,  and  saw,  and  felt  that  my  sister  was  far  more 
beautiful  than  any  of  the  young  girls  of  her  age  and  condi 
tion  that  I  had  seen  in  her  society ;  and  I  had  pleasure  and 
pride  in  the  fact.  I  knew  that  I  resembled  her  in  some 
respects,  but  I  was  never  coxcomb  enough  to  imagine  I  had 
half  her  good-looks,  even  allowing  for  difference  of  sex.  My 
own  conceit,  so  far  as  I  then  had  any — plenty  of  it  came,  a 
year  or  two  later — but  my  own  conceit,  in  1797,  rather  ran 
in  the  direction  of  my  athletic  properties,  physical  force, 
which  was  unusually  great  for  sixteen,  and  stature.  As  for 
Rupert,  I  would  not  have  exchanged  these  manly  qualities 
for  twenty  times  his  good  looks,  and  a  thought  of  envy  never 
crossed  my  mind  on  the  subject.  I  fancied  it  might  be  well 
enough  for  a  parson  to  be  a  little  delicate,  and  a  good  deal 
handsome ;  but  for  one  who  intended  to  knock  about  the 
world  as  I  had  it  already  in  contemplation  to  do,  strength, 
health,  vigour,  courage  and  activity,  were  much  more  to  be 
desired  than  beauty. 

Lucy  I  never  thought  of  as  handsome  at  all.  I  saw  she 
was  pleasing ;  fancied  she  was  even  more  so  to  me  than  to 
any  one  else ;  and  I  never  looked  upon  her  sunny,  cheerful 
and  y3t  perfectly  feminine  face,  without  a  feeling  of  security 
and  happiness.  As  for  her  honest  eyes,  they  invariably  met 
my  own  with  an  open  frankness  that  siid,  as  plainly  as  eyes 
could  say  anything,  there  was  nothing  'o  be  concealed. 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHOFtf.  21 


CHAPTER   II. 

u Cease  to  persuade,  my  loving  Proteus; 
Home-keeping  youth  have  ever  homely  wits  j-— 
I  rather  would  entreat  thy  company 
To  see  the  wonders  of  the  world  abroad." 

Two  Gentlemen  of — Clawbowzy, 

DURING  the  year  that  succeeded  after  I  was  prepared  for 
irale,  Mr.  Hardinge  had  pursued  a  very  judicious  course 
with  my  education.  Instead  of  pushing  me  into  books  that 
were  to  be  read  in  the  regular  course  of  that  institution,  with 
the  idea  of  lightening  my  future  labours,  which  would  only 
have  been  providing  excuses  for  future  idleness,  we  went 
back  to  the  elementary  works,  until  even  he  was  satisfied 
that  nothing  more  remained  to  be  done  in  that  direction.  I 
had  my  two  grammars  literally  by  heart,  notes  and  all. 
Then  we  revised  as  thoroughly  as  possible,  reading  every 
thing  anew,  and  leaving  no  passage  unexplained.  I  learned 
lo  scan,  too,  a  fa^t  that  was  sufficient  to  make  a  reputation 
for  a  scholar,  in  America,  half  a  century  since.*  After  this, 
we  turned  our  attention  to  mathematics,  a  science  Mr.  Har 
dinge  rightly  enough  thought  there  was  no  danger  of  my 
acquiring  too  thoroughly.  We  mastered  arithmetic,  of  which 
I  had  a  good  deal  of  previous  knowledge,  in  a  few  weeks, 
and  then  I  went  through  trigonometry,  with  some  of  the 
more  useful  problems  in  geometry.  This  was  the  point  at 
which  I  had  arrived  when  my  mother's  death  occurred. 

As  for  myself,  I  frankly  admit  a  strong  disinclination  to 
be  learned.  The  law  I  might  be  forced  to  study,  but  prac 
tising  it  was  a  thing  my  mind  had  long  been  made  up  never 

*  The  writer's  master  taught  him  to  scan  Virgil  in  1801.  This 
gentleman  was, a  graduate  of  Oxford.  In  1803,  the  class  to  whish 
the  writer  then  belonged  in  Yale,  was  the  first  that  ever  attempted  to 
scan  in  that  institution.  The  quantities  were  in  sad  discredit  in  this 
country,  years  after  t?>is,  though  Columbia  and  Harvard  were  a  little 
in  advance  of  Yale.  All  that  was  ever  done  in  the  last  college,  during 
the  writer's  time,  was  to  scan  the  ordinary  hexameter  of  Homer  and 
Virgil. 


22  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

to  do.  There  was  a  small  vein  of  obstinacy  in  my  disposi 
tion  that  would  have  been  very  likely  to  carry  me  through 
in  such  a  determination,  even  had  my  mother  lived,  though 
deference  to  her  wishes  would  certainly  have  carried  me  as 
far  as  the  license.  Even  now  she  was  no  more,  I  was  anx 
ious  to  ascertain  whether  she  had  left  any  directions  or 
requests  on  the  subject,  either  of  which  would  have  been 
laws  to  me.  I  talked  with  Rupert  on  this  matter,  and  was 
a  little  shocked  with  the  levity  with  which  he  treated  it. 
"  What  difference  can  it  make  to  your  parents,  now"  he 
said,  with  an  emphasis  that  grated  on  my  nerves,  "  whether 
you  become  a  lawyer,  or  a  merchant,  or  a  doctor,  or  stay 
here  on  your  farm,  and  be  a  farmer,  like  your  father  ?" 

"My  father  had  been  a  sailor,"  I  answered,  quick  as 
lightning. 

"  True  ;  and  a  noble,  manly,  gentleman-like  calling  it  is ! 
I  never  see  a  sailor  that  I  do  not  envy  him  his  advantages. 
Why,  Miles,  neither  of  us  has  ever  been  in  town  even,  while 
your  mother's  boatmen,  or  your  own,  as  they  are  now, 
there  regularly  once  a-week.  I  would  give  the  world  to 
a  sailor." 

"  You,  Rupert !  Why,  you  know  that  your  father  in 
tends,  or,  rather,  wishes  that  you  should  become  a  clergy 
man." 

"  A  pretty  appearance  a  young  man  of  my  figure  would 
make  in  the  pulpit,  Miles,  or  wearing  a  surplice.  No,  no ; 
there  have  been  two  Hardinges  in  the  church  in  this  cen 
tury,  and  I  have  a  fancy  also  to  the  sea.  I  suppose  you 
know  that  my  great-grandfather  was  a  captain  in  the  navy, 
and  he  brought  his  son  up  a  parson ;  now,  turn  about  is  fair 
play,  and  the  parson  ought  to  give  a  son  back  to  a  man-of- 
war.  I  Ve  been  reading  the  lives  of  naval  men,  and  it  Js 
surprising  how  many  clergymen's  sons,  in  England,  go  into 
the  navy,  and  how  many  sailors'  sons  get  to  be  priests." 

"  But  there  is  no  navy  in  this  country  now — not  even  a 
single  ship-of-war,  I  believe." 

"  That  is  the  worst  of  it.  Congress  did  pass  a  law,  two 
or  three  years  since,  to  build  some  frigates,  but  they  have 
never  been  launched.  Now  Washington  has  gone  out  of 
office,  I  suppose  we  shall  never  have  anything  good  in  the 
country." 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  23 

I  revered  the  name  of  Washington,  in  common  with  the 
whole  country,  but  I  did  not  see  the  sequitur.  Rupert,  how 
ever,  cared  little  for  logical  inferences,  usually  asserting  such 
things  as  he  wished,  and  wishing  such  as  he  asserted.  After 
a  short  pause,  he  continued  the  discourse. 

"  You  are  now  substantially  your  own  master,"  he  said, 
"  and  can  do  as  you  please.  Should  you  go  to  sea  and  not 
like  it,  you  have  only  to  come  back  to  this  place,  where  you 
will  be  just  as  much  the  master  as  if  you  had  remained  here 
superintending  cattle,  cutting  hay,  and  fattening  pork,  the 
whole  time." 

"I  am  not  my  own  master,  Rupert,  any  more  than  you 
are  yourself.  I  am  your  father's  ward,  and  must  so  remain 
for  more  than  five  years  to  come.  I  am  just  as  much  under 
his  control  as  you,  yourself." 

Rupert  laughed  at  this,  and  tried  to  persuade  me  it  would 
be  a  good  thing  to  relieve  his  worthy  father  of  all  responsi 
bility  in  the  affair,  if  I  had  seriously  determined  never  to  go 
to  Yale,  or  to  be  a  lawyer,  by  going  off  to  sea  clandestinely, 
and  returning  when  I  was  ready.  If  I  ever  was  to  make  a 
sailor,  no  time  was  to  be  lost ;  for  all  with  whom  he  had 
conversed  assured  him  the  period  of  life  when  such  things 
were  best  learned,  was  between  sixteen  and  twenty.  This 
I  thought  probable  enough,  and  I  parted  from  my  friend  with 
a  promise  of  conversing  further  with  him  on  the  subject  at 
an  early  opportunity. 

I  am  almost  ashamed  to  confess  that  Rupert's  artful 
sophism  nearly  blinded  my  eyes  to  the  true  distinction  be 
tween  right  and  wrong.  If  Mr.  Hardiuge  really  felt  himself 
bound  by  my  father's  wishes  to  educate  me  for  the  bar,  and 
my  own  repugnance  to  the  profession  was  unconquerable, 
why  should  I  not  relieve  him  from  the  responsibility  at  once 
by  assuming  the  right  to  judge  for  myself,  and  act  accord 
ingly?  So  far  as  Mr.  Hardinge  was  concerned,  I  had  little 
difficulty  in  coming  to  a  conclusion,  though  the  profound 
deference  I  still  felt  for  my  father's  wishes,  and  more  espe 
cially  for  those  of  my  sainted  mother,  had  a  hold  on  my 
heart,  and  an  influence  on  my  conduct,  that  was  not  so 
easily  disposed  of.  I  determined  to  have  a  frank  conversa 
tion  with  Mr.  Hardinge,  therefore,  in  order  to  ascertain  how 
far  either  of  my  parents  had  expressed  anything  that  might 


£4  AFLOAT      A.  N  1>     ASHORE. 

be  considered  obligatory  on  me.  My  plan  went  as  far  as  to 
reveal  my  own  desire  to  be  a  sailor,  and  to  see  the  world, 
but  not  to  let  it  be  known  t\^t  I  might  go  off  without  his 
knowledge,  as  this  would  not  be  so  absolutely  relieving  the 
excellent  divine  "  from  all  responsibility  in  the  premises,"  as 
*vas  contemplated  in  the  scheme  of  his  own  son. 

An  opportunity  soon  occurred,  when  I  broached  the  sub 
ject  by  asking  Mr.  Hardinge  whether  my  father,  in  his  will, 
Had  ordered  that  I  should  be  sent  to  Yale,  and  there  be  edu 
cated  for  the  bar.  He  had  done  nothing  of  the  sort.  Had 
he  left  any  particular  request,  writing,  or  message  on  the 
subject,  at  all  ?  Not  that  Mr.  Hardinge  knew.  It  is  true, 
the  last  had  heard  his  friend,  once  or  twice,  make  some 
general  remark  which  would  lead  one  to  suppose  that  Cap 
tain  Wallingford  had  some  vague  expectations  I  might  go 
to  the  bar,  but  nothing  further.  My  mind  felt  vastly  re 
lieved  by  these  admissions,  for  I  knew  my  mother's  tender 
ness  too  well  to  anticipate  that  she  would  dream  of  absolutely 
dictating  in  a  matter  that  was  so  clearly  connected  with  my 
own  happiness  and  tastes.  When  questioned  on  this  last 
point,  Mr.  Hardinge  did  not  hesitate  to  say  that  my  mother 
had  conversed  with  him  several  times  concerning  her  views, 
as  related  to  my  career  in  life.  She  wished  me  to  go  to 
Yale,  and  then  to  read  law,  even  though  I  did  not  practise. 
As  soon  as  this  much  was  said,  the  conscientious  servant  of 
God  paused,  to  note  the  effect  on  me.  Reading  disappoint 
ment  in  my  countenance,  I  presume,  he  immediately  addea, 
"  But  your  mother,  Miles,  laid  no  restraint  on  you  ;  for  she 
knew  it  was  you  who  was  to  follow  the  career,  and  not  her 
self.  *  I  should  as  soon  think  of  commanding  whom  he  was 
to  marry,  as  to  think  of  forcing  a  profession  on  him,'  she 
added.  '  He  is  the  one  who  is  to  decide  this,  and  he  only. 
We  may  try  to  guide  and  influence  hirn,  but  not  go  beyond 
this.  I  leave  you,  dear  sir,  to  do  all  you  think  best  in  thia 
matter,  certain  that  your  own  wisdom  will  be  aided  by  the 
providence  of  a  kind  Master.' " 

I  now  plainly  told  Mr.  Hardinge  my  desire  to  see  the 
world,  and  to  be  a  sailor.  The  divine  was  astounded  at  this 
declaration,  and  I  saw  that  he  was  grieved.  I  believe  some 
religious  objections  were  connected  with  his  reluctance  to 
consent  to  my  following  the  sea,  as  a  calling.  At  any  rate, 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  25 

it  was  easy  to  discover  that  these  objections  were  lasting 
and  profound.  In  that  day,  few  Americans  travelled,  by 
way  of  an  accomplishment,  at  all;  and  those  few  belonged 
to  a  class  in  society  so  much  superior  to  mine,  as  to  render 
it  absurd  to  think  of  sending  me  abroad  with  similar  views. 
Nor  would  my  fortune  justify  such  an  expenditure.  I  was 
well  enough  off  to  be  a  comfortable  and  free  housekeeper,  and 
as  independent  as  a  king  on  my  own  farm ;  living  in  abun 
dance,  nay,  in  superfluity,  so  far  as  all  the  ordinary  wants 
were  concerned ;  but  men  hesitated  a  litttle  about  setting  up 
for  gentlemen  at  large,  in  the  year  1797.  The  country  was 
fast  getting  rich,  it  is  true,  under  the  advantages  of  its  neu 
tral  position  ;  but  it  had  not  yet  been  long  enough  emanci 
pated  from  its  embarrassments  to  think  of  playing  the  nabob 
on  eight  hundred  pounds  currency  a-year.  The  interview 
terminated  with  a  strong  exhortation  from  my  guardian  not 
to  think  of  abandoning  my  books  for  any  project  as  vision 
ary  and  useless  as  the  hope  of  seeing  the  world  in  the  cha 
racter  of  a  common  sailor. 

I  related  all  this  to  Rupert,  who,  I  now  perceived  for  the 
first  time,  did  not  hesitate  to  laugh  at  some  of  his  father's 
notions,  as  puritanical  and  exaggerated.  He  maintained 
that  every  one  was  the  best  judge  of  what  he  liked,  and  that 
the  sea  had  produced  quite  as  fair  a  proportion  of  saints  as 
the  land.  He  was  not  certain,  considering  the  great  differ 
ence  there  was  in  numbers,  that  more  good  men  might  not 
be  traced  in  connection  with  the  ocean,  than  in  connection 
with  any  other  pursuit. 

"  Take  the  lawyers  now,  for  instance,  Miles,"  he  said, 
"  and  what  can  you  make  out  of  them,  in  the  way  of  reli 
gion,  I  should  like  to  know?  They  hire  their  consciences 
out  at  so  much  per  diem,  and  talk  and  reason  just  as  zeal 
ously  for  the  wrong,  as  they  do  for  the  right." 

"  By  George,  that  is  true  enough,  Rupert.  There  is  old 
David  Dockett,  I  remember  to  have  heard  Mr.  Hardinge  say, 
always  did  double  duty  for  his  fee,  usually  acting  as  witness, 
as  well  as  advocate.  They  tell  me  he  will  talk  by  the  hour 
of  facts  that  he  and  his  clients  get  up  between  them,  and 
look  the  whole  time  as  if  he  believed  all  he  said  to  be  true." 

Rupert  laughed  at  this  sally,  and  pushed  the  advantage  it 
gave  him  by  giving  several  other  examples  to  prove  how 
3 


26  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

much  his  father  was  mistaken  by  supposing  that  a,  man  was 
to  save  his  soul  from  perdition  simply  by  getting  admitted 
to  the  bar.  After  discussing  the  matter  a  little  longer,  to  my 
astonishment  Rupert  came  out  with  a  plain  proposal  that  he 
and  I  should  elope,  go  to  New  York,  and  ship  as  foremast- 
lads  in  some  Indiaman,  of  which  there  were  then  many 
sailing,  at  the  proper  season,  from  that  port.  I  did  not  dis 
like  the  idea,  so  far  as  I  was  myself  concerned ;  but  the 
thought  of  accompanying  Rupert  in  such  an  adventure, 
startled  me.  I  knew  I  was  sufficiently  secure  of  the  future 
to  be  able  to  risk  a  little  at  the  present  moment ;  but  such 
was  not  the  case  with  my  friend.  If  I  made  a  false  step  at 
so  early  an  age,  I  had  only  to  return  to  Clawbonny,  where 
I  was  certain  to  find  competence  and  a  home ;  but,  with 
Rupert,  it  was  very  different.  Of  the  moral  hazards  I  ran, 
I  then  knew  nothing,  and  of  course  they  gave  me  no  con 
cern.  Like  all  inexperienced  persons,  I  supposed  myself 
too  strong  in  virtue  to  be  in  any  danger  of  contamination  ; 
and  this  portion  of  the  adventure  was  regarded  with  the  self- 
complacency  with  which  the  untried  are  apt  to  regard  their 
own  powers  of  endurance.  I  thought  myself  morally  invul 
nerable. 

But  Rupert  might  find  it  difficult  to  retrace  any  serious 
error  made  at  his  time  of  life.  This  consideration  would 
have  put  an  end  to  the  scheme,  so  far  as  my  companion  was 
concerned,  had  not  the  thought  suggested  itself  that  I  should 
always  have  it  in  my  own  power  to  aid  my  friend.  Letting 
something  of  this  sort  escape  me,  Rupert  was  not  slow  in 
enlarging  on  it,  though  this  was  done  with  great  tact  and 
discretion.  He  proved  that,  by  the  time  we  both  came  of 
age,  he  would  be  qualified  to  command  a  ship,  and  that, 
doubtless,  I  would  naturally  desire  to  invest  some  of  my 
spare  cash  in  a  vessel.  The  accumulations  of  my  estate 
alone  would  do  this  much,  within  the  next  five  years,  and 
then  a  career  of  wealth  and  prosperity  would  lie  open  before 
us  both. 

"  It  is  a  good  thing,  Miles,  no  doubt,"  continued  this 
tempting  sophist,  "  to  have  money  at  use,  and  a  large  farm, 
and  a  mill,  and  such  things ;  but  many  a  ship  nets  more 
money,  in  a  single  voyage,  than  your  whole  estate  would 
sell  for  Those  that  begin  with  nothing,  too,  they  tell  me, 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  27 

are  the  most  apt  to  succeed ;  and,  if  we  go  off  with  our 
clothes  only,  we  shall  begin  with  nothing,  too.  Success 
may  be  said  to  be  certain.  I  like  the  notion  of  beginning 
with  nothing,  it  is  so  American  !" 

It  is,  in  truth,  rather  a  besetting  weakness  of  America  to 
suppose  that  men  who  have  never  had  any  means  tor  quali 
fying  themselves  for  particular  pursuits,  are  the  most  likely 
to  succeed  in  them ;  and  especially  to  fancy  that  those  who 
"  begin  poor"  are  in  a  much  better  way  for  acquiring  wealth 
than  they  who  commence  with  some  means  ;  and  I  was  dis 
posed  to  lean  to  this  lattter  doctrine  myself,  though  I  confess 
I  cannot  recall  an  instance  in  which  any  person  of  my 
acquaintance  has  given  away  his  capital,  however  large  and 
embarrassing  it  may  have  been,  in  order  to  start  fair  with 
his  poorer  competitors.  Nevertheless,  there  was  something 
taking,  to  my  imagination,  in  the  notion  of  being  the  fabri 
cator  of  my  own  fortune.  In  that  day,  it  was  easy  to  enu 
merate  every  dwelling  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  that 
aspired  to  be  called  a  seat,  and  I  had  often  heard  them 
named  by  those  who  were  familiar  with  the  river.  I  liked 
the  thought  of  erecting  a  house  on  the  Clawbonny  property 
that  might  aspire  to  equal  claims,  and  to  be  the  owner  of  a 
seat ;  though  only  after  I  had  acquired  the  means,  myself, 
to  carry  out  such  a  project.  At  present,  I  owned  only  a 
house  ;  my  ambition  was,  to  own  a  seat. 

In  a  word,  Rupert  and  I  canvassed  this  matter  in  every 
possible  way  for  a  month,  now  leaning  to  one  scheme,  and 
now  to  another,  until  I  determined  to  lay  the  whole  affair 
before  the  two  girls,  under  a  solemn  pledge  of  secrecy.  As 
we  passed  hours  in  company  daily,  opportunities  were  not 
wanting  to  effect  this  purpose.  I  thought  my  friend  was  a 
little  shy  on  this  project ;  but  I  had  so  much  affection  for 
Grace,  and  so  much  confidence  in  Lucy's  sound  judgment, 
that  I  was  not  to  be  turned  aside  from  the  completion  of  my 
purpose.  It  is  now  more  than  forty  years  since  the  inter 
view  took  place  in  which  this  confidence  was  bestowed ;  but 
every  minute  occurrence  connected  with  it  is  as  fresh  in  my 
mind  as  if  the  whole  had  taken  place  only  yesterday. 

We  were  all  four  of  us  sealed  on  a  rude  bench  that  my 
mother  had  caused  to  be  placed  under  the  shade  of  an  enor 
mous  oak  that  stood  on  the  most  picturesque  spot,  perhaps, 


28  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

on  the  whole  farm,  and  which  commanded  a  distant  view  of 
one  of  the  loveliest  reaches  of  the  Hudson.  Our  side  of  the 
river,  in  general,  does  not  possess  as  fine  views  as  the 
eastern,  for  the  reason  that  all  our  own  broken,  and  in  some 
instances  magnificent  back-ground  of  mountains,  fills  up  the 
landscape  for  our  neighbours,  while  we  are  obliged  to  receive 
the  picture  as  it  is  set  in  a  humbler  frame ;  but  there  are 
exquisite  bits  to  be  found  on  the  western  bank,  and  this  was 
one  of  the  very  best  of  them.  The  water  was  as  placid  as 
molten  silver,  and  the  sails  of  every  vessel  in  sight  were 
hanging  in  listless  idleness  from  their  several  spars,  repre 
senting  commerce  asleep.  Grace  had  a  deep  feeling  for 
natural  scenery,  and  she  had  a  better  mode  of  expressing 
her  thoughts,  on  such  occasions,  than  is  usual  with  girls  of 
fourteen.  She  first  drew  our  attention  to  the  view  by  one 
of  her  strong,  eloquent  bursts  of  eulogium ;  and  Lucy  met 
the  remark  with  a  truthful,  simple  answer,  that  showed 
abundant  sympathy  with  the  sentiment,  though  with  less  of 
exaggeration  of  manner  and  feeling,  perhaps.  I  seized  the 
moment  as  favourable  for  my  purpose,  and  spoke  out. 

"  If  you  admire  a  vessel  so  much,  Grace,"  I  said,  "  you 
will  probably  be  glad  to  hear  that  I  think  of  becoming  a 
sailor." 

A  silence  of  near  two  minutes  succeeded,  during  which 
time  I  affected  to  be  gazing  at  the  distant  sloops,  and  then  I 
ventured  to  steal  a  glance  at  my  companions.  I  found 
Grace's  mild  eyes  earnestly  riveted  on  my  face;  and,  turn 
ing  from  their  anxious  expression  with  a  little  uneasiness,  I 
encountered  those  of  Lucy  looking  at  me  as  intently  as  if 
she  doubted  whether  her  ears  had  not  deceived  her. 

"  A  sailor,  Miles  !" — my  sister  now  slowly  repeated — "  I 
thought  it  settled  you  were  to  study  law." 

"  As  far  from  that  as  we  are  from  England ;  I  Ve  fully 
made  up  my  mind  to  see  the  world  if  I  can  5  and  Rupert, 
here—" 

"  What  of  Rupert,  here  ?"  Grace  asked,  a  sudden  change 
again  coming  over  her  sweet  countenance,  though  I  was 
altogether  too  inexperienced  to  understand  its  meaning.  "He 
is  certainly  to  be  a  clergyman — his  dear  father's  assistant, 
and,  a  long,  long,  very  long  time  hence,  his  successor !" 

I  could  see  that  Rupert  was  whistling  on  a  low  key,  and 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  29 

affecting  to  look  cool ;  but  my  sister's  solemn,  earnest,  asto 
nished  manner  had  more  effect  on  us  both,  I  believe,  than 
either  would  have  been  willing  to  own. 

"  Come,  girls,"  I  said  at  length,  putting  the  best  face  on 
the  matter,  "  there  is  no  use  in  keeping  secrets  from  you — 
but  remember  that  what  I  am  about  to  tell  you  is  a  secret, 
and  on  no  account  is  to  be  betrayed." 

"  To  no  one  but  Mr.  Hardinge,"  answered  Grace.  "  If 
you  intend  to  be  a  sailor,  he  ought  to  know  it." 

"  That  comes  from  looking  at  our  duties  superficially,"  I 
had  caught  this  phrase  from  my  friend,  "and  not  distinguish 
ing  properly  between  their  shadows  and  their  substance." 

"Duties  superficially!  I  do  not  understand  you.  Miles. 
Certainly  Mr.  Hardinge  ought  to  be  told  what  profession  you 
mean  to  follow.  Remember,  brother,  he  now  fills  the  place 
of  a  parent  to  you." 

"  He  is  not  more  my  parent  than  Rupert's — I  fancy  you 
will  admit  that  much?" 

"  Rupert,  again  !  What  has  Rupert  to  do  with  your  going 
to  sea  ?" 

"  Promise  me,  then,  to  keep  my  secret,  and  you  shall 
know  all ;  both  you  and  Lucy  must  give  me  your  words. 
I  know  you  will  not  break  them,  when  once  given." 

"  Promise  him,  Grace,"  said  Lucy,  in  a  low  tone,  and  a 
voice  that,  even  at  that  age,  I  could  perceive  was  tremulous. 
"If  we  promise,  we  shall  learn  everything,  and  then  may 
have  some  effect  on  these  headstrong  boys  by  our  advice." 

"  Boys  !  You  cannot  mean,  Lucy,  that  Rupert  is  not  to 
be  a  clergyman — your  father's  assistant ;  that  Rupert  means 
to  be  a  sailor,  too  ?" 

"  One  never  knows  what  boys  will  do.  Let  us  promise 
them,  dear ;  then  we  can  better  judge." 

"  I  do  promise  you,  Miles,"  said  my  sister,  in  a  voice  so 
solemn  as  almost  to  frighten  me. 

"  And  I,  Miles,"  added  Lucy ;  but  it  was  so  low,  I  had  to 
lean  forward  to  catch  the  syllables. 

"  This  is  honest  and  right," — it  was  honest,  perhaps,  but 
very  wrong, — "  and  it  convinces  me  that  you  are  both  rea 
sonable,  and  will  be  of  use  to  us.     Rupert  and  I  have  both 
made  up  our  minds,  and  intend  to  be  sailors." 
3* 


30  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

Exclamations  followed  from  both  girls,  and  another  long 
silence  succeeded. 

"  As  for  the  law,  hang  all  law  !"  I  continued,  hemming, 
and  determined  to  speak  like  a  man.  "  I  never  heard  of  a 
Wallingford  who  was  a  lawyer." 

"  But  you  have  both  heard  of  Hardinges  who  were  cler 
gymen,"  said  Grace,  endeavouring  to  smile,  though  the 
expression  of  her  countenance  was  so  painful  that  even  now 
I  dislike  to  recall  it. 

"  And  sailors,  too,"  put  in  Rupert,  a  little  more  stoutly 
than  I  thought  possible.  "  My  father's  grandfather  was  an 
officer  in  the  navy." 

"  And  my  father  was  a  sailor  himself — in  the  navy,  too." 

"  But  there  is  no  navy  in  this  country  now,  Miles,"  re- 
turned  Lucy,  in  an  expostulating  tone. 

"What  of  that?  There  are  plenty  of  ships.  The  ocean 
is  just  as  big,  and  the  world  just  as  wide,  as  if  we  had  a 
navy  to  cover  the  first.  I  see  no  great  objection  on  that 
account — do  you,  Ru  ?" 

"  Certainly  not.  What  we  want  is  to  go  to  sea,  and  that 
can  be  done  in  an  Indiaman,  as  well  as  in  a  man-of-war." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  stretching  myself  with  a  little  importance  • 
"  I  fancy  an  Indiaman,  a  vessel  that  goes  all  the  way  to 
Calcutta,  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in  the  track  of 
Vasquez  de  Gama,  isn't  exactly  an  Albany  sloop." 

"  Who  is  Vasquez  de  Gama?"  demanded  Lucy,  with  so 
much  quickness  as  to  surprise  me. 

"  Why,  a  noble  Portuguese,  who  discovered  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  and  first  sailed  round  it,  and  then  went  to  the 
Indies.  You  sec,  girls,  even  nobles  are  sailors,  and  why 
should  not  Rupert  and  I  be  sailors?" 

"  It  is  not  that,  Miles,"  my  sister  answered ;  "  every 
honest  calling  is  respectable.  Have  you  and  Rupert  spoken 
to  Mr.  Hardinge  on  this  subject  ?" 

"  Not  exactly — not  spoken — hinted  only — that  is,  blindly 
— not  so  as  to  be  understood,  perhaps." 

"  He  will  never  consent,  boys  !"  and  this  was  uttered  with 
something  very  like  an  air  of  triumph. 

"  We  have  no  intention  of  asking  it  of  him,  Grace.  Ru 
pert  and  I  intend  to  be  off  next  week,  without  saying  a  word 
to  Mr.  Hardinge  on  the  subject." 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  31 

Another  long,  eloquent  silence  succeeded,  during  which  I 
saw  Lucy  bury  her  face  in  her  apron,  while  the  tears  openly 
ran  down  my  sister's  cheek. 

"  You  do  not — cannot  mean  'to  do  anything  so  cruel, 
Miles?"  Grace  at  length  said. 

"  It  is  exactly  because  it  will  not  be  cruel,  that  we  intend 
to  do  it," — here  I  nudged  Rupert  with  my  elbow,  as  a  hint 
that  I  wanted  assistance ;  but  he  made  no  other  reply  than 
an  answering  nudge,  which  I  interpreted  into  as  much  as  if 
he  had  said  in  terms,  "  You  Ve  got  into  the  scrape  in  your 
own  way,  and  you  may  get  out  of  it  in  the  same  manner." 
"  Yes,"  I  continued,  finding  succour  hopeless,  "  yes,  that 's 
just  it." 

"  What  is  just  it,  Miles  I  You  speak  in  a  way  to  show 
that  you  are  not  satisfied  with  yourself —  neither  you  nor 
Rupert  is  satisfied  with  himself,  if  the  truth  were  known." 

"  I  not  satisfied  with  myself !  Rupert  not  satisfied  with 
himself!  You  never  were  more  mistaken  in  your  life, 
Grace.  If  there  ever  were  two  boys  in  New  York  State 
that  were  well  satisfied  with  themselves,  they  are  just  Rupert 
and  I." 

Here  Lucy  raised  her  face  from  the  apron  and  burst  into 
a  laugh,  the  tears  filling  her  eyes  all  the  while. 

"  Believe  them,  dear  Grace,"  she  said.  "  They  are  pre 
cisely  two  self-satisfied,  silly  fellows,  that  have  got  some 
ridiculous  notions  in  their  heads,  and  then  begin  to  talk 
about  *  superficial  views  of  duties,'  and  all  such  nonsense. 
My  father  will  set  it  all  right,  and  the  boys  will  have  had 
their  talk." 

*'  Not  so  fast,  Miss  Lucy,  if  you  please.  Your  father  will 
not  know  a  syllable  of  the  matter  until  you  tell  him  all  about 
it,  after  we  are  gone.  We  intend  '  to  relieve  him  from  all 
responsibility  in  the  premises.'  " 

This  last  sounded  very  profound,  and  a  little  magnificent, 
to  my  imagination ;  and  I  looked  at  the  girls  to  note  the 
effect.  Grace  was  weeping,  and  weeping  only ;  but  Lucy 
looked  saucy  and  mocking,  even  while  the  tears  bedewed 
her  smiling  face,  as  rain  sometimes  falls  while  the  sun  is 
shining. 

"  Yes,"  I  repeated,  with  emphasis,  '  of  all  responsibility 
in  the  premises.'  I  hope  that  is  plain  English,  and  good 


32  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

English,  although  I  know  that  Mr.  Harclinge  has  been  trying 
to  make  you  both  so  simple  in  your  language,  that  you  turn 
up  your  noses  at  a  profound  sentiment,  whenever  you  hear 
one." 

In  1797,  the  grandiose  had  by  no  means  made  the  deep 
invasion  into  the  everyday  language  of  the  country,  that  it 
has  since  done.  Anything  of  the  sublime,  or  of  the  recon 
dite,  school  was  a  good  deal  more  apt  to  provoke  a  smile, 
than  it  is  to-day  —  the  improvement  proceeding,  as  I  have 
understood  through  better  judges  than  myself,  from  the 
great  melioration  of  mind  and  manners  that  is  to  be  traced  to 
the  speeches  in  congress,  and  to  the  profundities  of  the  news 
papers.  Rupert,  however,  frequently  ornamented  his  ideas, 
and  I  may  truly  say  everything  ambitious  that  adorned  my 
discourse  was  derived  from  his  example.  I  almost  thought 
Lucy  impertinent  for  presuming  to  laugh  at  sentiments  which 
came  from  such  a  source,  and,  by  way  of  settling  my  own 
correctness  of  thought  and  terms,  I  made  no  bones  of  falling 
back  on  my  great  authority,  by  fairly  pointing  him  out. 

"  I  thought  so !"  exclaimed  Lucy,  now  laughing  with  all 
her  heart,  though  a  little  hysterically ;  "  I  thought  so,  for 
this  is  just  like  Rupert,  who  is  always  talking  to  me  about 
*  assuming  the  responsibility,'  and  4  conclusions  in  the  pre 
mises,'  and  all  such  nonsense.  Leave  the  boys  to  my  father, 
Grace,  and  he  will  '  assume  the  responsibility'  of  l  conclu 
ding  the  premises,'  and  the  whole  of  the  foolish  scheme  along 
with  it !" 

This  would  have  provoked  me,  had  not  Grace  manifested 
so  much  sisterly  interest  in  my  welfare  that  I  was  soon  per 
suaded  to  tell  her — that  minx  Lucy  overhearing  every  sylla 
ble,  though  I  had  half  a  mind  to  tell  her  to  go  away — all 
about  our  project. 

"  You  see,"  I  continued,  "  if  Mr.  Hardinge  knows  any 
thing  about  our  plan,  people  will  say  he  ought  to  have 
stopped  us.  *  He  a  clergyman,  and  not  able  to  keep  two 
lads  of  sixteen  or  seventeen  from  running  away  and  going 
to  sea  !'  they  will  say,  as  if  it  were  so  easy  to  prevent  two 
spirited  youths  from  seeing  the  world.  Whereas,  if  he  knew 
nothing  about  it,  nobody  can  blame  him.  That  is  what  I 
call  *  relieving  him  from  the  responsibility.'  Now,  we  intend 
to  be  off  next  week,  or  as  soon  as  the  jackets  an&  trowsers 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  33 

that  are  making  for  us,  under  the  pretence  of  being  boat- 
dresses,  are  finished.  We  mean  to  go  down  the  river  in  the 
sail-boat,  taking  Neb  with  us  to  bring  the  boat  back.  Now 
you  know  the  whole  story,  there  will  be  no  occasion  to  leave 
a  letter  for  Mr.  Hardinge ;  for,  three  hours  after  we  have 
sailed,  you  can  tell  him  everything.  We  shall  be  gone  a 
year ;  at  the  end  of  that  time  you  may  look  for  us  both,  and 
glad  enough  shall  we  all  be  to  see  each  other.  Rupert  and 
1  will  be  young  men  then,  though  you  call  us  boys  now." 

This  last  picture  a  good  deal  consoled  the  girls.  Rupert, 
too,  who  had  unaccountably  kept  back,  throwing  the  labour 
ing-oar  altogether  on  me,  came  to  the  rescue,  and,  with  his 
subtle  manner  and  oily  tongue,  began  to  make  the  wrong 
appear  the  right.  I  do  not  think  he  blinded  his  own  sister 
in  the  least,  but  I  fear  he  had  too  much  influence  over  mine. 
Lucy,  though  all  heart,  was  as  much  matter-of-fact  as  her 
brother  was  a  sophist.  He  was  ingenious  in  glozing  over 
truths ;  she,  nearly  unerring  in  detecting  them.  I  never 
knew  a  greater  contrast  between  two  human  beings,  than 
there  was  between  these  two  children  of  the  same  parents, 
in  this  particular.  I  have  heard  that  the  son  took  after  the 
mother,  in  this  respect,  and  that  the  daughter  took  after  the 
father ;  though  Mrs.  Hardinge  died  too  early  to  have  had 
any  moral  influence  on  the  character  of  her  children. 

We  came  again  and  again  to  the  discussion  of  our  subject 
during  the  next  two  or  three  days.  The  girls  endeavoured 
earnestly  to  persuade  us  to  ask  Mr.  Hardinge's  permission 
for  the  step  we  were  about  to  undertake;  but  all  in  vain. 
We  lads  were  so  thoroughly  determined  to  "  relieve  the 
divine  from  all  responsibility  in  the  premises,"  that  they 
might  as  well  have  talked  to  stones.  We  knew  these  just- 
minded,  sincere,  upright  girls  would  not  betray  us,  and  con 
tinued  obdurate  to  the  last.  As  we  expected,  as  soon  as 
convinced  their  importunities  were  useless,  they  seriously 
set  about  doing  all  they  could  to  render  us  comfortable. 
They  made  us  duck  bags  to  hold  our  clothes,  two  each,  and 
mended  our  linen,  stockings,  &c.,  and  even  helped  to  pro 
cure  us  some  clothes  more  suited  to  the  contemplated  expe 
dition  than  most  of  those  we  already  possessed.  Our  "  long 
togs,"  indeed,  we  determined  to  leave  behind  us,  retaining 
just  one  suit  each,  and  that  of  the  plainest  quality.  In  the 


34  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

course  of  a  week  everything  was  ready,  our  bags  well  lined, 
being  concealed  in  the  storehouse  at  the  landing.  Of  this 
building  I  could  at  any  moment  procure  the  key,  my  autho 
rity  as  heir-apparent  being  very  considerable,  already,  on 
the  farm. 

As  for  Neb,  he  was  directed  to  have  the  boat  all  ready  for 
the  succeeding  Tuesday  evening,  it  being  the  plan  to  sail  the 
day  after  the  Wallingford  of  Clawbonny  (this  was  the  name 
of  the  sloop)  had  gone  on  one  of  her  regular  trips,  in  order  to 
escape  a  pursuit.  I  had  made  all  the  calculations  about  the 
tide,  and  knew  that  the  Wallingford  would  go  out  about  nine 
in  the  morning,  leaving  us  to  follow  before  midnight.  It 
was  necessary  to  depart  at  night  and  when  the  wharf  was 
clear,  in  order  to  avoid  observation. 

Tuesday  was  an  uneasy,  nervous  and  sad  day  for  us  all, 
Mr.  Hardinge  excepted.  As  the  last  had  not  the  smallest 
distrust,  he  continued  calm,  quiet,  and  cheerful  as  was  his 
wont.  Rupert  had  a  conscience-stricken  and  furtive  air 
about  him,  while  the  eyes  of  the  two  dear  girls  were  scarcely 
a  moment  without  tears.  Grace  seemed  now  the  most  com 
posed  of  the  two,  and  I  have  since  suspected  that  she  had 
had  a  private  conversation  with  my  ingenious  friend,  whose 
convincing  powers  were  of  a  very  extraordinary  quality, 
when  he  set  about  their  use  in  downright  earnest.  As  for 
Lucy,  she  seemed  to  me  to  have  been  weeping  the  entire 
day. 

At  nine  o'clock  it  was  customary  for  the  whole  family  to 
separate,  after  prayers.  Most  of  us  went  to  bed  at  that  early 
hour,  though  Mr.  Hardinge  himself  seldom  sought  his  pillow 
until  midnight.  This  habit  con-pelled  us  to  use  a  good  deal 
of  caution  in  getting  out  of  the  house,  in  which  Rupert  and 
myself  succeeded,  however,  without  discovery,  just  as  the 
clock  struck  eleven.  We  had  taken  leave  of  the  girls  in  a 
hasty  manner,  in  a  passage,  shaking  hands,  and  each  of  us 
kissing  his  own  sister,  as  he  affected  to  retire  for  the  night. 
To  own  the  truth,  we  were  much  gratified  in  finding  how 
reasonably  Grace  and  Lucy  behaved  on  the  occasion,  and 
not  a  little  surprised,  for  we  had  expected  a  scene,  particu 
larly  with  the  former. 

We  walked  away  from  the  house  with  heavy  hearts,  few 
leaving  the  paternal  roof  for  the  first  time,  to  enter  upon  the 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  35 

chances  of  the  world,  without  a  deep  sense  of  the  dependence 
in  which  they  had  hitherto  lived.  We  walked  fast  and 
silently,  and  reached  the  wharf  in  less  than  half  an  hour,  a 
distance  of  near  two  miles.  I  was  just  on  the  point  of  speaking 
to  Neb,  whose  figure  I  could  see  in  the  boat,  when  I  caught 
a  glimpse  of  two  female  forms  within  six  feet  of  me.  There 
were  Grace  and  Lucy,  in  tears,  both  waiting  our  arrival, 
with  a  view  to  see  us  depart !  I  confess  I  was  shocked  and 
concerned  at  seeing  these  two  delicate  girls  so  far  from  their 
home,  at  such  an  hour;  and  my  first  impulse  was  to  see 
them  both  safely  back  before  I  would  enter  the  boat ;  but  to 
this  neither  would  consent.  AH  my  entreaties  were  thrown 
away,  and  I  was  obliged  to  submit. 

I  know  not  exactly  how  it  happened,  but  of  the  fact  I  am 
certain  ;  odd  as  it  may  seem,  at  a  moment  like  that,  when 
about  to  separate,  instead  of  each  youth's  getting  his  own 
sister  aside  to  make  his  last  speeches,  and  say  his  last  say 
to,  each  of  us  got  his  friend's  sister  aside.  I  do  not  mean 
that  we  were  making  love,  or  anything  of  the  sort ;  we  were 
a  little  too  young,  perhaps,  for  that;  but  we  obeyed  an  im 
pulse  which,  as  Rupert  would  have  said,  "  produced  that 
result." 

What  passed  between  Grace  and  her  companion,  I  do  not 
know.  As  for  Lucy  and  myself,  it  was  all  plain-sailing  and 
fair  dealing.  The  excellent  creature  forced  on  me  six  gold 
pieces,  which  I  knew  had  come  to  her  as  an  heirloom  from 
her  mother,  and  which  I  had  often  heard  her  declare  she 
never  meant  to  use,  unless  in  the  last  extremity.  She  knew 
I  had  but  five  dollars  on  earth,  and  that  Rupert  had  not  one; 
and  she  offered  me  this  gold.  I  told  her  Rupert  had  better 
take  it ;  no,  7  had  better  take  it.  I  should  use  it  more  pru 
dently  than  Rupert,  and  would  use  it  for  the  good  of  both. 
"  Besides,  you  are  rich,"  she  said,  smiling  through  her  tears, 
"  and  can  repay  me — I  lend  them  to  you  ;  to  Rupert  1  should 
have  to  give  them."  I  could  not  refuse  the  generous  girl, 
and  took  the  money,  all  half-joes,  with  a  determination  to 
repay  them  with  interest.  Then  I  folded  her  to  my  heart, 
and  kissed  her  six  or  eight  times  with  fervour,  the  first  time 
I  had  done  such  a  thing  in  two  years,  and  tore  myself  away. 
[  do  not  think  Rupert  embraced  Grace,  but  I  confess  I  do 


3C  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

not  know,  although  we  were  standing  within  three  or  four 
yards  of  each  other,  the  whole  time. 

"  Write,  Miles — write,  Rupert,"  said  the  sobbing  girls, 
leaning  forward  from  the  wharf,  as  we  shoved  off.  It  was 
not  so  dark  but  we  could  see  their  dear  forms  for  several 
minutes,  or  until  a  bend  in  the  creek  put  a  dark  mass  of 
earth  between  us  and  them. 

Such  was  the  manner  of  my  departure  from  Clawbonny, 
in  the  month  of  September,  1797.  I  wanted  a  few  days  of 
being  seventeen  ;  Rupert  was  six  months  older,  and  Neb  was 
his  senior,  again,  by  near  a  twelvemonth.  Everything  was 
in  the  boat  but  our  hearts.  Mine,  I  can  truly  say,  remained 
with  the  two  beloved  creatures  we  left  on  the  wharf;  while 
Rupert's  was  betwixt  and  between,  I  fancy — seldom  abso 
lutely  deserting  the  dear  tenement  in  which  it  was  encased 
by  nature. 


CHAPTER   III. 

"There's  a  youth  in  this  city,  it  were  a  great  pity 
That  he  from  our  lasses  should  wander  awa' ; 
For  he  's  bonny  and  braw,  weel-favoured  witha', 
And  his  hair  has  a  natural  buckle  and  a*. 
His  coat  is  the  hue  of  his  bonnet  so  blue ; 
His  pocket  is  white  as  the  new-driven  snaw  j 
His  hose  they  are  blac,  and  his  shoon  like  the  slae, 
And  his  clean  siller  buckles  they  dazzle  us  a'." 

BURNS. 

WE  had  selected  our  time  well,  as  respects  the  hour  of 
departure.  It  was  young  ebb,  and  the  boat  floated  swiftly 
down  the  creek,  though  the  high  banks  of  the  latter  would 
have  prevented  our  feeling  any  wind,  even  if  there  were  a 
breeze  on  the  river.  Our  boat  was  of  some  size,  sloop-rigged 
and  half-decked ;  but  Neb's  vigorous  arms  made  her  move 
through  the  water  with  some  rapidity,  and,  to  own  the  truth, 
the  lad  sprang  to  his  work  like  a  true  runaway  negro.  I 
was  a  skilful  oarsman  myself,  having  received  many  lessons 
from  my  father  in  early  boyhood,  and  being  in  almost  daily 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  37 

practice  for  seven  months  in  the  year.  The  excitement  of 
the  adventure,  its  romance,  or  what  for  a  short  time  seemed 
to  me  to  be  romance,  and  the  secret  apprehension  of  being 
detected,  which  I  believe  accompanies  every  clandestine 
undertaking,  soon  set  me  in  motion  also.  I  took  one  of  the 
oars,  and,  in  less  than  twenty  minutes,  the  Grace  &  Lucy, 
for  so  the  boat  was  called,  emerged  from  between  two, 
high,  steep  banks,  and  entered  on  the  broader  bosom  of  the 
Hudson. 

Neb  gave  a  half-suppressed,  negro-like  cry  of  exultation, 
as  we  shot  out  from  our  cover,  and  ascertained  that  there 
was  a  pleasant  and  fair  breeze  blowing.  In  three  minutes 
we  had  the  jib  and  mainsail  on  the  boat,  the  helm  was  up, 
the  sheet  was  eased  off,  and  we  were  gliding  down-stream  at 
the  rate  of  something  like  five  miles  an  hour.  I  took  the 
helm,  almost  as  a  matter  of  course ;  Rupert  being  much  too 
indolent  to  do  anything  unnecessarily,  while  Neb  was  far 
too  humble  to  aspire  to  such  an  office  while  Master  Miles 
was  there,  willing  and  ready.  In  that  day,  indeed,  it  was 
so  much  a  matter  of  course  for  the  skipper  of  a  Hudson  river 
craft  to  steer,  that  most  of  the  people  who  lived  on  the  banks 
of  the  stream  imagined  that  Sir  John  Jervis,  Lord  Anson, 
and  the  other  great  English  admirals  of  whom  they  had  read 
and  heard,  usually  amused  themselves  with  that  employment, 
out  on  the  ocean.  I  remember  the  hearty  laugh  in  which 
my  unfortunate  father  indulged,  when  Mr.  Hardinge  once 
asked  him  how  he  could  manage  to  get  any  sleep,  on  account 
of  this  very  duty.  But  we  were  very  green,  up  at  Clawbon- 
ny,  in  most  things  that  related  to  the  world. 

The  hour  that  succeeded  was  one  of  the  most  painful 
I  ever  passed  in  my  life.  I  recalled  my  father,  his  manly 
frankness,  his  liberal  bequests  in  my  favour,  and  his  pre 
cepts  of  respect  and  obedience  ;  all  of  which,  it  now  seemed 
to  me,  I  had  openly  dishonoured.  Then  came  the  image  of 
my  mother,  with  her  love  and  sufferings,  her  prayers,  and 
her  mild  but  earnest  exhortations  to  be  good.  I  thought  I 
could  see  both  these  parents  regarding  me  with  sorrowful, 
though  not  with  reproachful  countenances.  They  appeared 
to  be  soliciting  my  return,  with  a  species  of  silent,  but  not 
the  less  eloquent,  warnings  of  the  consequences.  Grace  and 
Lucy,  and  their  sobs,  and  admonitions,  and  entreaties  to 
4 


38  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

abandon  my  scheme,  and  to  write,  and  not  to  remain  away 
long,  and  all  that  tender  interest  had  induced  two  warm 
hearted  girls  to  utter  at  our  parting,  came  fresh  and  vividly 
to  my  mind.  The  recollection  proved  nearly  too  much  for 
me.  Nor  did  I  forget  Mr.  Hardinge,  and  the  distress  he 
would  certainly  feel,  when  he  discovered  that  he  had  not 
only  lost  his  ward,  but  his  only  son.  Then  Clawbonny 
itself,  the  house,  the  orchards,  the  meadows,  the  garden,  the 
mill,  and  all  that  belonged  to  the  farm,  began  to  have  a 
double  value  in  my  eyes,  and  to  serve  as  so  many  cords  at 
tached  to  my  heart-strings,  and  to  remind  me  that  the  rover 

"  Drags  at  each  remove  a  lengthening  chain." 

I  marvelled  at  Rupert's  tranquillity.  I  did  not  then  under 
stand  his  character  as  thoroughly  as  I  subsequently  got  to 
know  it.  All  that  he  most  prized  was  with  him  in  the  boat, 
in  fact,  and  this  lessened  his  grief  at  parting  from  less  be- 
lov^d  objects.  Where  Rupert  was,  there  was  his  paradise. 
As  Tor  Neb,  I  do  believe  his  head  was  over  his  shoulder,  for 
he  affected  to  sit  with  his  face  down-stream,  so  long  as  the 
hills  that  lay  in  the  rear  of  Clawbonny  could  be  at  all  dis 
tinguished.  This  must  have  proceeded  from  tradition,  or 
instinct,  or  some  latent  negro  quality ;  for  I  do  not  think  the 
fellow  fancied  he  was  running  away.  He  knew  that  his  two 
young  masters  were ;  but  he  was  fully  aware  he  was  my 
property,  and  no  doubt  thought,  as  long  as  he  staid  in  my 
company,  he  was  in  the  line  of  his  legitimate  duty.  Then 
it  was  my  plan  that  he  should  return  with  the  boat,  and  per 
haps  these  backward  glances  were  no  more  than  the  shadows 
of  coming  events,  cast,  in  his  case,  behind. 

Rupert  was  indisposed  to  converse,  for,  to  tell  the  truth, 
he  had  eaten  a  hearty  supper,  and  began  to  feel  drowsy ; 
and  I  was  too  much  wrapped  up  in  my  own  busy  thoughts 
to  solicit  any  communications.  I  found  a  sort  of  saddened 
pleasure  in  setting  a  watch  for  the  night,  therefore,  which 
had  an  air  of  seaman-like  duty  about  it,  that  in  a  slight  de 
gree  revived  my  old  taste  for  the  profession.  It  was  midnight, 
and  I  took  the  first  watch  myself,  bidding  my  two  compa 
nions  to  crawl  under  the  half-deck,  and  go  to  sleep.  This 
they  both  did  without  any  parley,  Rupert  occupying  an  inner 
place,  while  Neb  lay  with  his  legs  exposed  to  the  night  air. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  <59 

The  breeze  freshened,  and  for  some  time  I  thought  it 
might  be  necessary  to  reef,  though  we  were  running  dead 
before  the  wind.  I  succeeded  in  holding  on,  however,  and 
T  found  the  Grace  &  Lucy  was  doing  wonders  in  my  watch. 
When  I  gave  Rupert  his  call  at  four  o'clock,  the  boat  was 
just  approaching  two  frowning  mountains,  where  the  river 
was  narrowed  to  a  third  or  fourth  of  its  former  width ;  and, 
by  the  appearance  of  the  shores,  and  the  dim  glimpses  I  had 
caught  of  a  village  of  no  great  size  on  the  right  bank,  I  knew 
we  were  in  what  is  called  Newburgh  Bay.  This  was  the 
extent  of  our  former  journeyings  south,  all  three  of  us  having 
once  before,  and  only  once,  been  as  low  as  Fishkill  Landing, 
which  lies  opposite  to  the  place  that  gives  this  part  of  the 
river  its  name. 

Rupert  now  took  the  helm,  and  I  went  to  sleep.  The 
wind  still  continued  fresh  and  fair,  and  I  felt  no  uneasiness 
on  account  of  the  boat.  It  is  true,  there  were  two  parts  of 
the  navigation  before  us  of  which  I  had  thought  a  little 
seriously,  but  not  sufficiently  so  to  keep  me  awake.  These 
were  the  Race,  a  passage  in  the  Highlands,  and  Tappan 
Sea ;  both  points  on  the  Hudson  of  which  the  navigators  of 
that  classical  stream  were  fond  of  relating  the  marvels.  The 
first  I  knew  was  formidable  only  later  in  the  autumn,  and, 
as  for  the  last,  I  hoped  to  enjoy  some  of  its  wonders  in  the 
morning.  In  this  very  justifiable  expectation,  I  fell  asleep. 

Neb  did  not  call  me  until  ten  o'clock.  I  afterwards  dis 
covered  that  Rupert  kept  the  helm  for  only  an  hour,  and 
then,  calculating  that  from  five  until  nine  were  four  hours, 
he  thought  it  a  pity  the  negro  should  not  have  his  share  of 
the  glory  of  that  night.  When  I  was  awakened,  it  was 
merely  to  *et  me  know  that  it  was  time  to  eat  something — 
Neb  would  have  starved  before  he  would  precede  his  young 
master  in  that  necessary  occupation — and  I  found  Rupert  m 
a  deep  and  pleasant  sleep  at  my  side. 

We  were  in  the  centre  of  Tappan,  and  the  Highlands  had 
been  passed  in  safety.  Neb  expatiated  a  little  on  the  diffi 
culties  of  the  navigation,  the  river  having  many  windings, 
besides  being  bounded  by  high  mountains ;  but,  after  all,  he 
admitted  that  there  was  water  enough,  wind  enough,  and  a 
road  that  was  plain  enough.  From  this  moment,  excitement 
kept  us  wide  awake.  Everything  was  new,  and  everything 


40  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

seemed  delightful.  The  day  was  pleasant,  the  wind  conti 
nued  fair,  and  nothing  occurred  to  mar  our  joy.  I  had  a 
little  map,  one  neither  particularly  accurate,  nor  very  well 
engraved  ;  and  I  remember  the  importance  with  which,  after 
having  ascertained  the  fact  myself,  I  pointed  out  to  my  two 
companions  the  rocky  precipices  on  the  western  bank,  as 
New  Jersey!  Even  Rupert  was  struck  with  this  important 
circumstance.  As  for  Neb,  he  was  actually  in  ecstasies, 
rolling  his  large  black  eyes,  and  showing  his  white  teeth, 
until  he  suddenly  closed  his  truly  coral  and  plump  lips,  to 
demand  what  New  Jersey  meant?  Of  course  I  gratified 
this  laudable  desire  to  obtain  knowledge,  and  Neb  seemed 
still  more  pleased  than  ever,  now  he  had  ascertained  that 
New  Jersey  was  a  State.  Travelling  was  not  as  much  of 
an  every-day  occupation,  at  that  time,  as  it  is  now  ;  and  it 
was,  in  truth,  something  for  three  American  lads,  all  under 
nineteen,  to  be  able  to  say  that  they  had  seen  a  State,  other 
than  their  own. 

Notwithstanding  the  rapid  progress  we  had  made  for  the 
first  few  hours  of  our  undertaking,  the  voyage  was  far  from 
being  ended.  About  noon  the  wind  came  out  light  from  the 
southward,  and,  having  a  flood-tide,  we  were  compelled  to 
anchor.  This  made  us  all  uneasy,  for,  while  we  were  sta 
tionary,  we  did  not  seem  to  be  running  away.  The  ebb 
came  again,  at  length,  however,  and  then  we  made  sail,  and 
began  to  turn  down  with  the  tide.  It  was  near  sunset  before 
we  got  a  view  of  the  two  or  three  spires  that  then  piloted 
strangers  to  the  town.  New  York  was  not  the  "  commer 
cial  emporium"  in  1796 ;  so  high-sounding  a  title,  indeed, 
scarce  belonging  to  the  simple  English  of  the  period,  it  re 
quiring  a  very  great  collection  of  half-educated  men  to  ven 
ture  on  so  ambitious  an  appellation — the  only  emporium  that 
existed  in  America,  during  the  last  century,  being  a  slop 
shop  in  Water  street,  and  on  the  island  of  Manhattan.  Com 
mercial  emporium  was  a  flight  of  fancy,  indeed,  that  must 
have  required  a  whole  board  of  aldermen,  and  an  extra  sup 
ply  of  turtle,  to  sanction.  What  is  meant  by  a  literary 
emporium,  I  leave  those  editors  who  are  "  native  and  to  the 
manor  born,"  to  explain. 

We  first  saw  the  State  Prison,  which  was  then  new,  and 
a  most  imposing  edifice,  according  to  our  notions,  as  we 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  41 

drew  near  the  town.  Like  the  gallows  first  s^en  by  a  tra 
veller  in  entering  a  strange  country,  it  was  a  pledge  of  civil 
ization.  Neb  shook  his  head,  as  he  gazed  at  it,  with  a 
moralizing  air,  and  said  it  had  a  "  wicked  look."  For  my 
self,  I  own  I  did  not  regard  it  altogether  without  dread.  On 
Rupert  it  made  less  impression  than  on  any  of  the  three. 
He  was  always  somewhat  obtuse  on  the  subject  of  morals.* 
New  York,  in  that  day,  and  on  the  Hudson  side  of  the 
town,  commenced  a  short  distance  above  Duane  street. 
Between  Greenwich,  as  the  little  hamlet  around  the  State 
Prison  was  called,  and  the  town  proper,  was  an  interval  of 
a  mile  and  a  half  of  open  fields,  dotted  here  and  there  with 
country-houses.  Much  of  this  space  was  in  broken  hills, 
and  a  few  piles  of  lumber  lay  along  the  shores.  St.  John's 
church  had  no  existence,  and  most  of  the  ground  in  its  vici 
nity  was  in  low  swamp.  As  we  glided  along  the  wharves, 
we  caught  sight  of  the  first  market  I  had  then  ever  seen — 
such  proofs  of  an  advanced  civilization  not  having  yet  made 
their  way  into  the  villages  of  the  interior.  It  was  called 
"  The  Bear,"  from  the  circumstance  that  the  first  meat  ever 
exposed  for  sale  in  it  was  of  that  animal ;  but  the  appellation 
has  disappeared  before  the  intellectual  refinement  of  these 
later  times — the  name  of  the  soldier  and  statesman,  Wash 
ington,  having  fairly  supplanted  that  of  the  bear  !  Whether 
this  great  moral  improvement  was  brought  about  by  the 
Philosophical  Society,  or  the  Historical  Society,  or  "  The 
Merchants,"  or  the  Aldermen  of  New  York,  I  have  never 
ascertained.  If  the  latter,  one  cannot  but  admire  th(3ir  dis 
interested  modesty  in  conferring  this  notable  honour  on  the 
Father  of  his  country,  inasmuch  as  all  can  see  that  there 
never  has  been  a  period  when  their  own  board  has  not  pos 
sessed  distinguished  members,  every  way  qualified  to  act  as 
god-fathers  to  the  most  illustrions  markets  of  the  republic. 
But  Manhattan,  in  the  way  of  taste,  has  never  had  justice 
done  it.  So  profound  is  its  admiration  for  all  the  higher 
qualities,  that  Franklin  and  Fulton  have  each  a  market  to 
himself,  in  addition  to  this  bestowed  an  Washington.  Doubt- 

*  It  may  be  well  to  tell  the  European  who  shall  happen  to  read  this 
book,  that  in  America  a  "State's  Prison''  is  not  for  prisoners  of  State, 
but  for  common  rogues ;  the  term  coming  from  the  naine  borne  by  th« 
local  governments. 

4* 


42  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

less  there  would  have  been  Newton  Market,  and  Socrates 
Market,  and  Solomon  Market,  but  for  the  patriotism  of  tho 
town,  which  has  forbidden  it  from  going  out  of  the  hemi 
sphere,  in  quest  of  names  to  illustrate.  Bacon  Market  would 
doubtless  have  been  too  equivocal  to  be  tolerated,  under  any 
circumstances.  Then  Bacon  was  a  rogue,  though  a  philoso 
pher,  and  markets  are  always  appropriated  to  honest  people. 
At  all  events,  I  am  rejoiced  the  reproach  of  having  a  market 
called  "  The  Bear"  has  been  taken  away,  as  it  was  tacitly 
admitting  our  living  near,  if  not  absolutely  in,  the  woods. 

We  passed  the  Albany  basin,  a  large  receptacle  for  North 
River  craft,  that  is  now  in  the  bosom  of  the  town  and  built 
on,  and  recognized  in  it  the  mast-head  of  the  Wallingford. 
Neb  was  shown  the  place,  for  he  was  to  bring  the  boat  round 
to  it,  and  join  the  sloop,  in  readiness  to  return  in  her.  We 
rounded  the  Battery,  then  a  circular  stripe  of  grass,  with  an 
earthen  and  wooden  breastwork  running  along  the  margin 
of  the  water,  leaving  a  narrow  promenade  on  the  exterior. 
This  brought  us  to  White-Hall,  since  so  celebrated  for  its 
oarsmen,  where  we  put  in  for  a  haven.  I  had  obtained  the 
address  of  a  better  sort  of  sailor-tavern  in  that  vicinity,  and, 
securing  the  boat,  we  shouldered  the  bags,  got  a  boy  to  guide 
us,  and  were  soon  housed.  As  it  was  near  night,  Rupert 
and  I  ordered  supper,  and  Neb  was  directed  to  pull  the  boat 
round  to  the  sloop,  and  to  return  to  us  in  the  morning  ; 
taking  care,  however,  not  to  let  our  lodgings  be  known. 

The  next  day,  I  own  I  thought  but  little  of  the  girls,  Claw- 
bonny,  or  Mr.  Hardinge.  Neb  was  at  my  bed-side  before 
I  was  up,  and  reported  the  Grace  &  Lucy  safe  alongside  of 
the  Wallingford,  and  expressed  himself  ready  to  wait  on  me 
in  my  progress  in  quest  of  a  ship.  As  this  was  the  moment 
of  action,  little  was  said,  but  we  all  breakfasted,  and  sallied 
forth,  in  good  earnest,  on  the  important  business  before  us. 
Neb  was  permitted  to  follow,  but  at  such  a  distance  as  to 
prevent  his  being  suspected  of  belonging  to  our  party — a 
gentleman,  with  a  serving-man  at  his  heels,  not  being  tho 
candidate  most  likely  to  succeed  in  his  application  for  a  berth 
in  the  forecastle. 

So  eager  was  I  to  belong  to  some  sea-going  craft,  that  I 
would  not  stop  even  to  look  at  the  wonders  of  the  town, 
before  we  took  the  direction  of  the  wharves.  Rupert  was 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  43 

for  pursuing  a  different  policy,  having  an  inherent  love  of 
the  genteeter  gaieties  of  a  town,  but  I  turned  a  deaf  ear  to 
his  hints,  and  this  time  I  was  master.  He  followed  me  with 
some  reluctance,  but  follow  he  did,  after  some  remonstrances 
that  bordered  on  warmth.  Any  inexperienced  eye  that  had 
seen  us  passing,  would  have  mistaken  us  for  two  well-look 
ing,  smart  young  sailor-boys,  who  had  just  returned  from  a 
profitable  voyage,  and  who,  well-clad,  tidy  and  semi-genteel, 
were  strolling  along  the  wharves  as  admiratcurs,  not  to  say 
critics,  of  the  craft.  Admiratcurs  we  were,  certainly,  or  I 
was,  at  least ;  though  knowledge  was  a  point  on  which  we 
were  sadly  deficient. 

The  trade  of  America  was  surprisingly  active  in  1797. 
It  had  been  preyed  upon  by  the  two  great  belligerents  of  the 
period,  England  and  France,  it  is  true ;  and  certain  proceed 
ings  of  the  latter  nation  were  about  to  bring  the  relations  of 
the  two  countries  into  a  very  embarrassed  state ;  but  still 
the  shipping  interest  was  wonderfully  active,  and,  as  a  whole, 
singularly  successful.  Almost  every  tide  brought  in  or  took 
out  ships  for  foreign  ports,  and  scarce  a  week  passed  that 
vessels  did  not  arrive  from,  or  sail  for,  all  the  different  quar 
ters  of  the  world.  An  Indiaman,  however,  was  our  object; 
the  voyage  being  longer,  the  ships  better,  and  the  achieve 
ment  greater,  than  merely  to  cross  the  Atlantic  and  return. 
We  accordingly  proceeded  towards  the  Fly  Market,  in  the 
vicinity  of  which,  we  had  been  given  to  understand,  some 
three  or  four  vessels  of  that  description  were  fitting  out. 
This  market  has  since  used  its  wings  to  disappear,  alto 
gether. 

I  kept  my  eyes  on  every  ship  we  passed.  Until  the  pre 
vious  day,  I  had  never  seen  a  square-rigged  vessel ;  and  no 
enthusiast  in  the  arts  ever  gloated  on  a  fine  picture  or  statue 
with  greater  avidity  than  my  soul  drank  in  the  wonder  and 
beauty  of  every  ship  I  passed.  I  had  a  large,  full-rigged 
model  at  Clawbonny ;  and  this  I  had  studied  under  my 
father  so  thoroughly,  as  to  know  the  name  of  every  rope  in 
it,  and  to  have  some  pretty  distinct  notions  of  their  uses. 
This  early  schooling  was  now  of  great  use  to  me,  though  I 
found  it  a  little  difficult,  at  first,  to  trace  my  old  acquaint 
ances  on  the  large  scale  in  which  they  now  presented  them 
selves,  and  amid  the  intricate  mazes  that  were  drawn  against 


44  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

the  skies.  The  braces,  shrouds,  stays  and  halyards,  wero 
all  plain  enough,  and  I  could  point  to  either,  at  a  moment's 
notice;  but  when  it  came  to  the  rest  of  the  running  rigging, 
I  found  it  necessary  to  look  a  little,  before  I  could  speak  with 
certainty. 

Eager  as  I  was  to  ship,  the  indulgence  of  gazing  at  all  1 
saw  was  so  attractive,  that  it  was  noon  before  we  reached 
an  Indiaman.  This  was  a  pretty  little  ship  of  about  four 
hundred  tons,  that  was  called  the  John.  Little  I  say,  for 
such  she  would  now  be  thought,  though  a  vessel  of  her  size 
was  then  termed  large.  The  Manhattan,  much  the  largest 
ship  out  of  the  port,  measured  but  about  seven  hundred  tons  ; 
while  few  even  of  the  Indiamen  went  much  beyond  five  hun 
dred.  I  can  see  the  John  at  this  moment,  near  fifty  years 
after  I  first  laid  eyes  on  her,  as  she  then  appeared.  She 
was  not  bright-sided,  but  had  a  narrow,  cream-coloured 
streak,  broken  into  ports.  She  was  a  straight,  black-looking 
craft,  with  a  handsome  billet,  low,  thin  bulwarks,  and  waist- 
cloths  secured  to  ridge-ropes.  Her  larger  spars  were  painted 
the  same  colour  as  her  streak,  and  her  stern  had  a  few 
ornaments  of  a  similar  tint. 

We  went  on  board  the  John,  where  we  found  the  officers 
just  topping  off  with  the  riggers  and  stevedores,  having 
stowed  all  the  provisions  and  water,  and  the  mere  trifle  of 
cargo  she  carried.  The  mate,  whose  name  was  Marble,  and 
a  well-veined  bit  of  marble  he  was,  his  face  resembling  a 
map  that  had  more  rivers  drawn  on  it  than  the  land  could 
feed,  winked  at  the  captain  and  nodded  his  head  towards  us 
as  soon  as  we  met  his  eye.  The  latter  smiled,  but  did  not 
speak. 

"  Walk  this  way,  gentlemen  —  walk  this  way,  if  you 
please,"  said  Mr.  Marble,  encouragingly,  passing  a  ball  of 
spun-yarn,  all  the  while,  to  help  a  rigger  serve  a  rope. 
"  When  did  you  leave  the  country  ?" 

This  produced  a  general  laugh,  even  the  yellow  rascal  of 
a  mulatto,  who  was  passing  into  the  cabin  with  some  crock 
ery,  grinning  in  our  faces  at  this  salutation.  I  saw  it  was 
now  or  never,  and  determined  not  to  be  brow-beaten,  while 
I  was  too  truthful  to  attempt  to  pass  for  that  I  was  not. 

"  We  left  home  last  night,  thinking  to  be  in  time  to  find 
berths  in  one  of  the  Indiamen  that  is  to  sail  this  week." 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  45 

"  Not  this  week,  my  son — not  till  next"  said  Mr.  Marble, 
jocularly.  "  Sunday  is  the  day.  We  run  from  Sunday  to 
Sunday — the  better  day,  the  better  deed,  you  know.  How 
did  you  leave  father  and  mother  ?" 

"  I  have  neither,"  I  answered,  almost  choked.  "  My  mo 
ther  died  a  few  months  since,  and  my  father,  Captain  Wal- 
lingford,  has  now  been  dead  some  years." 

The  master  of  the  John  was  a  man  of  about  fifty,  red- 
faced,  hard-looking,  pock-marked,  square-rigged,  and  of  an 
exterior  that  promised  anything  but  sentiment.  Feeling, 
however,  he  did  manifest,  the  moment  I  mentioned  my  father's 
name.  He  ceased  his  employment,  came  close  to  me,  gazed 
earnestly  in  my  face,  and  even  looked  kind. 

"  Are  you  a  son  of  Captain  Miles  Wallingford?"  he  asked 
in  a  low  voice — "  of  Miles  Wallingford,  from  up  the  river?" 

"  I  am,  sir  ;  his  only  son.  He  left  but  two  of  us,  a  son 
and  a  daughter ;  and,  though  under  no  necessity  to  work  at 
all,  I  wish  to  make  this  Miles  Wallingford  as  good  a  seaman 
as  the  last,  and,  I  hope,  as  honest  a  man." 

This  was  said  manfully,  and  with  a  spirit  that  must  have 
pleased  ;  for  I  was  shaken  cordially  by  the  hand,  welcomed 
on  board,  invited  into  the  cabin,  and  asked  to  take  a  seat  at 
a  table  on  which  the  dinner  had  just  been  placed.  Rupert, 
of  course,  shared  in  all  these  favours.  Then  followed  the 
explanations.  Captain  Robbins,  of  the  John,  had  first  gone 
to  sea  whh  my  father,  for  whom  I  believe  he  entertained  a 
profound  respect.  He  had  even  served  with  him  once  as 
mate,  and  talked  as  if  he  felt  that  he  had  been  under  obli 
gations  to  him.  He  did  not  question  me  very  closely,  seem 
ing  to  think  it  natural  enough  that  Miles  Wallingford's  only 
son  should  wish  to  be  a  seaman. 

As  we  sat  at  the  table,  even,  it  was  agreed  that  Rupert 
and  I  should  join  the  ship,  as  green  hands,  the  very  next 
morning,  signing  the  articles  as  soon  as  we  went  on  shore. 
This  was  done  accordingly,  and  I  had  the  felicity  of  writing 
Miles  Wallingford  to  the  roll  d'equipage,  to  the  tune  of  eigh 
teen  dollars  per  month  —  seamen  then  actually  receiving 
thirty  and  thirty-five  dollars  per  month — wages.  Rupert 
was  taken  also,  though  Captain  Robbins  cut  him  down  to 
thirteen  dollars,  saying,  in  a  jesting  way,  that  a  parson's  son 
could  hardly  be  worth  as  much  as  the  son  of  one  of  the  best 


16  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

old  ship-masters  who  ever  sailed  out  of  America.  He  was 
a  shrewd  observer  of  men  and  things,  this  new  friend  of 
mine,  and  I  believe  understood  "  by  the  cut  of  his  jib"  that 
Rupert  was  not  likely  to  make  a  weather-earing  man.  The 
money,  however,  was  not  of  much  account  in  our  calcula 
tions  ;  and  lucky  enough  did  I  think  myself  in  finding  so 
good  a  berth,  almost  as  soon  as  looked  for.  We  returned 
to  the  tavern  and  staid  that  night,  taking  a  formal  leave  of 
Neb,  who  was  to  carry  the  good  news  home,  as  soon  as  the 
sloop  should  sail. 

In  the  morning  a  cart  was  loaded  with  our  effects,  the  bill 
was  discharged,  and  we  left  the  tavern.  I  had  the  precau 
tion  not  to  go  directly  alongside  the  ship.  On  the  contrary, 
we  proceeded  to  an  opposite  part  of  the  town,  placing  the 
bags  on  a  wharf  resorted  to  by  craft  from  New  Jersey,  as 
if  we  intended  to  go  on  board  one  of  them.  The  cartman 
took  his  quarter,  and  drove  off,  troubling  himself  very  little 
about  the  future  movements  of  two  young  sailors.  Waiting 
half  an  hour,  another  cart  was  called,  when  we  went  to  the 
John,  and  were  immediately  installed  in  her  forecastle. 
Captain  Robbins  had  provided  us  both  with  chests,  paid  for 
out  of  the  three  months'  advance,  and  in  them  we  found  the 
slops  necessary  for  so  long  a  voyage.  Rupert  and  I  imme 
diately  put  on  suits  of  these  new  clothes,  with  regular  little 
round  tarpaulins,  which  so  much  altered  us  in  appeal ance, 
even  from  those  produced  by  our  Ulster  county  fittings,  that 
we  scarce  knew  each  other. 

Rupert  now  went  on  deck  to  lounge  and  smoke  a 
segar,  while  I  went  aloft,  visiting  every  yard,  and  touch 
ing  all  three  of  the  trucks,  before  I  returned  from  this,  my 
exploring  expedition.  The  captain  and  mates  and  riggers 
smiled  at  my  movements,  and  I  overheard  the  former  telling 
his  mate  that  I  was  "old  Miles  over  again."  In  a  word, all 
parties  seemed  pleased  with  the  arrangement  that  had  been 
made.  I  had  told  the  officers  aft  of  my  knowledge  of  the 
names  and  uses  of  most  of  the  ropes ;  and  never  did  I  feei 
so  proud  as  when  Mr.  Marble  called  out,  in  a  loud  tone — 

"  D'ye  hear  there,  Miles — away  aloft  and  unreeve  them 
fore-lop-gallant  halyards,  and  send  an  end  down  to  haul  up 
this  new  rope,  to  reeve  a  fresh  set." 

Away  I  went,  my  head  buzzing  with   the  complicated 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  47 

order,  and  yet  I  had  a  very  tolerable  notion  of  what  was  to 
be  done.  The  unreeving  might  have  been  achieved  by  any 
one,  and  I  got  through  with  that  without  difficulty ;  and,  the 
mate  himself  helping  me  and  directing  me  from  the  deck, 
the  new  rope  was  rove  with  distinguished  success.  This 
was  the  first  duty  I  ever  did  in  a  ship,  and  I  was  prouder 
of  it  than  of  any  that  was  subsequently  performed  by  the 
same  individual.  The  whole  time  I  was  thus  occupied, 
Rupert  stood  lounging  against  the  foot  of  the  main-stay? 
smoking  his  segar  like  a  burgomaster.  His  turn  came  next, 
however,  the  captain  sending  for  him  to  the  cabin,  where  he 
set  him  at  work  to  copy  some  papers.  Rupert  wrote  a 
beautiful  hand,  and  he  wrote  rapidly.  That  evening  I  heard 
the  chief-mate  tell  the  dickey  that  the  parson's  son  was  likely 
to  turn  out  a  regular  "  barber's  clerk"  to  the  captain.  "  The 
old  man,"  he  added,  "makes  so  many  traverses  himself  on 
a  bit  of  paper,  that  he  hardly  knows  at  which  end  to  begin 
to  read  it ;  and  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  he  just  stationed  this 
chap,  with  a  quill  behind  his  ear,  for  the  v'y'ge." 

For  the  next  two  or  three  days  I  was  delightfully  busy, 
passing  half  the  time  aloft.  All  the  sails  were  to  be  bent, 
and  I  had  my  full  share  in  the  performance  of  this  duty.  I 
actually  furled  the  mizen-royal  with  my  own  hands — the 
ship  carrying  standing  royals — and  it  was  said  to  be  very 
respectably  done ;  a  little  rag-baggish  in  the  bunt,  perhaps, 
but  secured  in  a  way  that  took  the  next  fellow  who  touched 
the  gasket  five  minutes  to  cast  the  sail  loose.  Then  it  rained, 
and  sails  were  to  be  loosened  to  dry.  I  let  everything  fall 
forward  with  my  own  hands,  and,  when  we  came  to  roll  up 
the  canvass  again,  I  actually  managed  all  three  of  the  royals 
alone  ;  one  at  a  time,  of  course.  My  father  had  taught  me 
to  make  a  flat-knot,  a  bowline,  a  clove-hitch,  two  half- 
hitches,  and  such  sort  of  things ;  and  I  got  through  with  both 
a  long  and  a  short  splice  tolerably  well.  I  found  all  this, 
and  the  knowledge  I  had  gained  from  my  model-ship  at 
home,  of  great  use  to  me ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  as  to  induce 
even  that  indurated  bit  of  mortality,  Marble,  to  say  I  "  was 
the  ripest  piece  of  green  stuff  he  had  ever  fallen  in  with." 

All  this  time,  Rupert  was  kept  at  quill-driving.  Once  he 
got  leave  to  quit  the  ship — it  was  the  day  before  we  sailed — 
and  I  observed  he  went  ashore  in  his  long-togs,  of  which 


48  ATLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

each  of  us  had  one  suit.  I  stole  away  the  same  afternoon 
to  find  the  post-office,  and  worked  up-stream  as  far  as  Broad 
way,  not  knowing  exactly  which  way  to  shape  my  course. 
In  that  day,  everybody  who  was  anybody,  and  unmarried, 
promenaded  the  west  side  of  this  street,  from  the  Battery  to 
St.  Paul's  Church,  between  the  hours  of  twelve  and  half- 
past  two,  wind  and  weather  permitting.  There  I  saw  Rupert, 
in  his  country  guise,  nothing  remarkable,  of  a  certainty, 
strutting  about  with  the  best  of  them,  and  looking  handsome 
in  spite  of  his  rusticity.  It  was  getting  late,  and  he  left  the 
street  just  as  I  saw  him.  I  followed,  waiting  until  we  got  to 
a  private  place  before  I  would  speak  to  him,  however,  as  I 
knew  he  would  be  mortified  to  be  taken  for  the  friend  of  a 
Jack-tar,  in  such  a  scene. 

Rupert  entered  a  door,  and  then  reappeared  with  a  letter 
in  his  hand.  He,  too,  had  gone  to  the  post-office,  and  I  no 
Conger  hesitated  about  joining  him. 

"  Is  it  from  Clawponny  ?"  I  asked,  eagerly.  "  If  so,  from 
Lucy,  doubtless  ?" 

"From  Clawbonny  —  but  from  Grace,"  he  answered, 
with  a  slight  change  of  colour.  "  I  desired  the  poor  girl  to 
let  me  know  how  things  passed  off,  after  we  left  them ;  and 
as  for  Lucy,  her  pot-hooks  are  so  much  out  of  the  way,  I 
never  want  to  see  them." 

I  felt  hurt,  offended,  that  my  sister  should  write  to  any 
youngster  but  myself.  It  is  true,  the  letter  was  to  a  bosom 
friend,  a  co-adventurer,  one  almost  a  child  of  the  same 
family  ;  and  I  had  come  to  the  office  expecting  to  get  a  letter 
from  Rupert's  sister,  who  had  promised,  while  weeping  on 
the  wharf,  to  do  exactly  the  same  thing  for  me ;  but  there 
is  a  difference  between  one's  sister  writing  to  another  young 
man,  and  another  young  man's  sister  writing  to  oneself.  I 
cannot  even  now  explain  it;  but  that  there  is  a  difference  I  am 
sure.  Without  asking  to  see  a  line  that  Grace  had  written, 
I  went  into  the  office,  and  returned  in  a  minute  or  two,  with 
an  air  of  injured  dignity,  holding  Lucy's  epistle  in  my  hand. 

After  all,  there  was  nothing  in  either  letter  to  excite  much 
sensibility.  Each  was  written  with  the  simplicity,  truth  and 
feeling  of  a  generous-minded,  warm-hearted  female  friend, 
of  an  age  not  to  distrust  her  own  motives,  to  a  lad  who 
had  no  right  to  view  the  favour  other  than  it  was,  as  ancvi 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  49 

dence  of  early  and  intimate  friendship.  Both  epistles  are 
now  before  me,  and  I  copy  them,  as  the  shortest  w.iy  of 
letting  the  reader  know  the  effect  our  disappearance  had 
produced  at  Clawbonny.  That  of  Grace  was  couched  in 
the  following  terms : 

DEAR  RUPERT : 

Clawbonny  was  in  commotion  at  nine  o'clock  this 
morning,  and  well  it  might  be  !  When  your  father's  anxiety 
got  to  be  painful,  I  told  him  the  whole,  and  gave  him  the 
letters.  I  am  sorry  to  say,  he  wept  I  wish  never  to  see 
such  a  sight  again.  The  tears  of  two  such  silly  girls  as 
Lucy  and  I,  are  of  little  account — but,  Rupert,  to  behold  an 
aged  man  we  love  and  respect  like  him,  a  minister  of  the  gos 
pel  too,  in  tears !  It  was  a  hard  sight  to  bear.  He  did  not 
reproach  us  for  our  silence,  saying  he  did  not  see,  after  our 
promises,  how  we  could  well  do  otherwise.  I  gare  your 
reasons  about  "  responsibility  in  the  premises ;"  but  I  don't 
think  he  understood  them.  Is  it  too  late  to  return  ?  The 
boat  that  carried  you  down  can  bring  you  back ;  and  oh  ! 
how  much  rejoiced  shall  we  all  be  to  see  you  !  Wherever 
you  go,  and  whatever  you  do,  boys,  for  I  write  as  much  to 
one  as  to  the  other,  und  only  address  to  Rupert  because  he 
so  earnestly  desired  it ;  but  wherever  you  go,  and  whatever 
you  do,  remember  the  instructions  you  have  both  received 
in  youfh,  and  how  much  all  of  us  are  interested  in  your 
conduct  and  happiness. 

Affectionately,  yours, 

GRACE  WALLINGFORD. 
To  Mr.  Rupert  Hardinge. 

Lucy  had  been  less  guarded,  and  possibly  a  little  more 
honest.     She  wrote  as  follows : 

DEAR  MILES  : 

I  believe  I  cried  for  one  whole  hour  after  you  and 
Rupert  left  us,  and,  now  it  is  all  over,  I  am  vexed  at  having 
cried  so  much  about  two  such  foolish  fellows.  Grace  has 
told  you  all  about  my  dear,  dear  father,  who  cried  too.  I 
declare,  I  don't  know  when  I  was  so  frightened  !  I  thought 
it  must  bring  you  back,  as  soon  as  you  hear  of  it.  What 
will  be  done,  I  do  not  know ;  but  something,  I  am  certain 
5 


50  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

Whenever  father  is  in  earnest,  he  says  but  little.  I  know 
he  is  in  earnest  now.  I  believe  Grace  and  I  do  nothing  but 
think  of  you ;  that  is,  she  of  you,  and  I  of  Rupert ;  and  a 
little  the  other  way,  too — so  now  you  have  the  whole  truth. 
Do  not  fail,  on  any  account,  to  write  before  you  go  to  sea, 
if  you  do  go  to  sea,  as  I  hope  and  trust  you  will  not. 
Good-bye. 

LUCY  HAEDINGE. 
To  Mr.  Miles  Wallingford. 

P.  S.  Neb's  mother  protests,  if  the  boy  is  not  home  by 
Saturday  night,  she  will  go  after  him.  No  such  disgrace 
as  a  runaway  ever  befel  her  or  hers,  and  she  says  she  will 
not  submit  to  it.  But  I  suppose  we  shall  see  him  soon,  and 
with  him  letters. 

Now,  Neb  had  taken  his  leave,  but  no  letter  had  been 
trusted  to  his  care.  As  often  happens,  I  regretted  the  mis 
take  when  it  was  too  late ;  and  all  that  day  I  thought  how 
disappointed  Lucy  would  be,  when  she  came  to  see  the  negro 
em-piy-handed.  Rupert  and  I  parted  in  the  street,  as  he  did 
not  wish  to  walk  with  a  sailor,  while  in  his  own  long-togs. 
He  did  not  say  as  much ;  but  I  knew  him  well  enough  to 
ascertain  it,  without  his  speaking.  I  was  walking  very  fast 
in  the  direction  of  the  ship,  and  had  actually  reached  the 
wharves,  when,  in  turning  a  corner,  I  came  plump  upon  Mr. 
Hardinge.  My  guardian  was  walking  slowly,  his  face  sor 
rowful  and  dejected,  and  his  eyes  fastened  on  every  ship  he 
passed,  as  if  looking  for  his  boys.  He  saw  me,  casting  a 
vacant  glance  over  my  person  ;  but  I  was  so  much  changed 
by  dress,  and  particularly  by  the  little  tarpaulin,  that  he  did 
not  know  me.  Anxiety  immediately  drew  his  look  towards 
the  vessels,  and  I  passed  him  unobserved.  Mr.  Hardinge 
was  walking  from,  and  I  towards  the  John,  and  of  course 
all  my  risk  terminated  as  soon  as  out  of  sight. 

That  evening  I  had  the  happiness  of  being  under-way,  in 
a  real  full-rigged  ship.  It  is  true,  it  was  under  very  short 
canvass,  and  merely  to  go  into  the  stream.  Taking  advan 
tage  of  a  favourable  wind  and  tide,  the  John  left  the  wharf 
under  her  jib,  main-top-mast  staysail,  and  spanker,  and 
dropped  down  as  low  as  the  Battery,  when  she  sheered  into 
the  other  channel  and  anchored.  Here  I  was,  then,  fairly 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  5i 

at  anchor  in  the  stream,  half  a  mile  from  any  land  but  the 
bottom,  and  burning  to  see  the  ocean.  That  afternoon  tho 
crew  came  on  board,  a  motley  collection  of  lately  drunken 
seamen,  of  whom  about  half  were  Americans,  and  the  rest 
natives  of  as  many  different  countries  as  there  were  men. 
Mr.  Marble  scanned  them  with  a  knowing  look,  and,  to  my 
surprise,  he  told  the  captain  there  was  good  stuil' among  them. 
It  seems  he  was  a  better  judge  than  I  was  myself,  for  a  more 
unpromising  set  of  wretches,  as  to  looks,  I  never  saw  grouped 
together.  A  few,  it  is  true,  appeared  well  enough  ;  but  most 
of  them  had  the  air  of  having  been  dragged  through — a  place 
I  will  not  name,  though  it  is  that  which  sailors  usually  quote 
when  describing  themselves  on  such  occasions.  But  Jack, 
after  he  has  been  a  week  at  sea,  and  Jack  coming  on  board 
to  duty,  after  a  month  of  excesses  on  shore,  are  very  differ 
ent  creatures,  morally  and  physically. 

I  now  began  to  regret  that  I  had  not  seen  a  little  of  the 
town.  In  1797,  New  York  could  not  have  had  more  than 
fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  though  it  was  just  as  much  of  a 
paragon  then,  in  the  eyes  of  all  good  Americans,  as  it  is  to 
day.  It  is  a  sound  patriotic  rule  to  maintain  that  our  best 
is  always  the  best,  for  it  never  puts  us  in  the  wrong.  I  have 
seen  enough  of  the  world  since  to  understand  that  we  get  a 
great  many  things  wrong-end  foremost,  in  this  country  of 
ours ;  undervaluing  those  advantages  and  excellencies  of 
which  we  have  great  reason  to  be  proud,  and  boasting  of 
others  that,  to  say  the  least,  are  exceedingly  equivocal.  But 
t  takes  time  to  learn  all  this,  and  I  have  no  intention  of  get 
ting  ahead  of  my  story,  or  of  my  country ;  the  last  being  a 
most  suicidal  act. 

We  received  the  crew  of  a  Saturday  afternoon,  and  half 
of  them  turned  in  immediately.  Rupert  and  I  had  a  good 
berth,  intending  to  turn  in  and  out  together,  during  the 
voyage ;  and  this  made  us  rather  indifferent  to  the  move 
ments  of  the  rest  of  our  extraordinary  associates.  The  kid, 
at  supper,  annoyed  us  both  a  little ;  the  notion  of  seeing  one's 
food  in  a  round  trough,  to  be  tumbled  over  and  cut  from  by 
all  hands,  being  particularly  disagreeable  to  those  who  have 
been  accustomed  to  plates,  knives  and  forks,  and  such  other 
superfluities.  I  confess  I  thought  of  Grace's  and  Lucy's 
little  white  hands,  and  of  silver  supar-tongs,  and  of  clean 


52  AFLOAT     AND     ASHOKE. 

plates  and  glasses,  and  table-cloths — napkins  and  silver  forks 
were  then  unknown  in  America,  except  on  the  very  best 
tables,  and  not  always  on  them,  unless  on  high  days  and 
holidays — as  we  were  going  through  the  unsophisticated 
manipulations  of  this  first  supper.  Forty-seven  years  have 
elapsed,  and  the  whole  scene  is  as  vivid  to  my  mind  at  this 
moment,  as  if  it  occurred  last  night.  I  wished  myself  one 
of  the  long-snouted  tribe,  several  times,  in  order  to  be  in 
what  is  called  "  keeping." 

I  had  the  honour  of  keeping  an  anchor- watch  in  company 
with  a  grum  old  Swede,  as  we  lay  in  the  Hudson.  The 
wind  was  light,  and  the  ship  had  a  good  berth,  so  my  asso 
ciate  chose  a  soft  plank,  told  me  to  give  him  a  call  should 
anything  happen,  and  lay  down  to  sleep  away  his  two  hours 
in  comfort.  Not  so  with  me.  I  strutted  the  deck  with  as 
much  importance  as  if  the  weight  of  the  State  lay  on  my 
shoulders — paid  a  visit  every  five  minutes  to  the  bows,  to 
see  that  the  cable  had  not  parted,  and  that  the  anchor  did 
.not  "  come  home" — and  then  looked  aloft,  to  ascertain  that 
everything  was  in  its  place.  Those  were  a  happy  two 
hours ! 

About  ten  next  morning,  being  Sunday,  and,  as  Mr.  Mar 
ble  expressed  it,  "  the  better  day,  the  better  deed,"  the  pilot 
came  off,  and  all  hands  were  called  to  "up  anchor."  The 
cook,  cabin-boy,  Rupert  and  I,  were  entrusted  with  the  duty 
of  "  fleeting  jig"  and  breaking  down  the  coils  of  the  cable, 
the  handspikes  requiring  heavier  hands  than  ours.  The 
anchor  was  got  in  without  any  difficulty,  however,  when 
Rupert  and  I  were  sent  aloft  to  loose  the  fore-top-sail.  Ru 
pert  got  into  the  top  via  the  lubber's  hole,  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
and  the  loosing  of  the  sail  on  both  yard-arms  fell  ft>  my  duty. 
A  hand  was  on  the  fore-yard,  and  I  was  next  ordered  up  to 
loose  the  top-gallant-sail.  Canvass  began  to  fall  and  open 
all  over  the  ship,  the  top-sails  were  mast-headed,  and,  as  I 
looked  down  from  the  fore-top-mast  cross-trees,  where  1 
remained  to  overhaul  the  clew-lines,  I  saw  that  the  ship  was 
falling  off,  and  that  her  sails  were  filling  with  a  stiff  north 
west  breeze.  Just  as  my  whole  being  was  entranced  with 
the  rapture  of  being  under- way  for  Canton,  which  was  then 
called  the  Indies,  Rupert  called  out  to  me  from  the  top.  He 
was  pointing  at  some  object  on  the  water,  and,  turning,  I 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  53 

saw  a  beat  within  a  hundred  feet  of  the  ship.  In  her  was  Mr. 
Hardinge,  who  at  that  moment  caught  sight  of  us.  But  the 
ship's  sails  were  now  all  full,  and  no  one  on  deck  saw,  or  at 
least  heeded,  the  boat.  The  John  glided  past  it,  and,  the 
last  I  saw  of  my  venerated  guardian,  he  was  standing  erect, 
bare-headed,  holding  both  arms  extended,  as  if  entreating  us 
not  to  desert  him  !  Presently  the  ship  fell  off  so  much,  that 
the  after-sails  hid  him  from  my  view. 

I  descended  into  the  top,  where  I  found  Rupert  had  shrunk 
down  out  of  sight,  looking  frightened  and  guilty.  As  for 
myself,  I  got  behind  the  head  of  the  mast,  and  fairly  sobbed. 
This  lasted  a  few  minutes,  when  an  order  from  the  mate 
called  us  both  below.  When  I  reached  the  deck,  the  boat 
was  already  a  long  distance  astern,  and  had  evidently  given 
up  the  idea  of  boarding  us.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  felt 
the  most  relieved  or  pained  by  the  certainty  of  this  fact. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

"There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men, 
Which,  taken  at  the  flood,  leads  on  to  fortune , 
Omitted,  all  the  voyage  of  their  life 
Is  bound  in  shallows,  and  in  miseries. 
On  such  a  full  sea  are  we  now  afloat; 
And  we  must  take  the  current  when  it  serves, 
Or  lose  our  ventures." 

Brutus — Julius  Casar. 

IN  four  hours  from  the  time  when  Rupert  and  I  last  saw 
Mr.  Hardinge,  the  ship  was  at  sea.  She  crossed  the  bar, 
and  started  on  her  long  journey,  with  a  fresh  north-wester, 
and  with  everything  packed  on  that  she  would  bear.  We 
took  a  diagonal  course  out  of  the  bight  formed  by  the  coasts 
of  Long  Island  and  New  Jersey,  and  sunk  the  land  entirely 
by  the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  I  watched  the  highlands  of 
Navesink,  as  they  vanished  like  watery  clouds  in  the  west, 
and  then  I  felt  I  was  at  last  fairly  out.  of  sight  of  land.  But 
a  foremast  hand  has  little  opportunity  for  indulging  in  senti- 
5  * 


54  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

mem,  as  he  quits  his  native  shore;  and  few,  I  fancy,  have 
the  disposition.  As  regards  the  opportunity,  anchors  are  to 
be  got  in  off  the  bows,  and  stowed ;  cables  are  to  be  unbent 
and  coiled  down ;  studding-gear  is  to  be  hauled  out  and  got 
ready ;  frequently  boom-irons  are  to  be  placed  upon  the 
yards,  and  the  hundred  preparations  made,  that  render  the 
work  of  a  ship  as  ceaseless  a  round  of  activity  as  that  of  a 
house.  This  kept  us  all  busy  until  night,  when  the  watches 
were  told  off  and  set.  I  was  in  the  larboard,  or  chief-mate's 
watch,  having  actually  been  chosen  by  that  hard-featured 
old  seaman,  the  fourth  man  he  named  ;  an  honour  for  which 
I  was  indebted  to  the  activity  I  had  already  manifested  aloft. 
Rupert  was  less  distinguished,  being  taken  by  the  captain 
for  the  second-mate's  watch,  the  very  last  person  chosen. 
That  night  Mr.  Marble  dropped  a  few  hints  on  the  subject, 
which  let  me  into  the  secret  of  these  two  selections.  "  You 
and  I  will  get  along  well  together,  I  see  that  plainly,  Miles," 
he  said,  "  for  there 's  quicksilver  in  your  body.  As  for  your 
friend  in  t'other  watch,  it 's  all  as  it  should  be ;  the  captain 
has  got  one  hand  the  most,  and  such  as  he  is,  he  is  welcome 
to  him.  He  '11  blacken  more  writing  paper  this  v'y'ge,  I 
reckon,  than  he'll  tar  down  riggin'."  I  thought  it  odd, 
however,  that  Rupert,  who  had  been  so  forward  in  all  the 
preliminaries  of  our  adventure,  should  fall  so  far  astern  in 
its  first  practical  results. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  dwell  on  all  the  minute  incidents 
of  this,  my  first  voyage  to  sea,  else  would  it  spin  out  the 
narrative  unnecessarily,  and  render  my  task  as  fatiguing  to 
the  reader,  as  it  might  prove  to  myself.  One  occurrence, 
however,  which  took  place  three  days  out,  must  be  men 
tioned,  as  it  will  prove  to  be  connected  with  important  cir 
cumstances  in  the  end.  The  ship  was  now  in  order,  and 
was  at  least  two  hundred  leagues  from  the  land,  having  had 
a  famous  run  off  the  coast,  when  the  voice  of  the  cook,  who 
had  gone  below  for  water,  was  heard  down  among  the  casks, 
in  such  a  clamour  as  none  but  a  black  can  raise,  with  all  his 
loquacity  awakened. 

"  There 's  two  niggers  at  that  work  !"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Marble,  after  listening  an  instant,  glancing  his  eye  round  to 
make  certain  the  mulatto  steward  was  not  in  the  discussion. 
"  No  one  darkey  ever  could  make  all  that  outcry.  Bear  a 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  55 

hand  below,  Miles,  and  see  if  Africa  has  come  aboard  us  in 
the  night." 

I  was  in  the  act  of  obeying,  when  Cato,  the  cook,  was 
seen  rising  through  the  steerage-hatch,  dragging  after  him 
the  dark  poll  of  another  black,  whom  he  had  gripped  by  the 
wool.  In  an  instant  both  were  on  deck,  when,  to  my  asto 
nishment,  I  discovered  the  agitated  countenance  of  Nebu 
chadnezzar  Clawbonny.  Of  course  the  secret  was  out,  the 
instant  the  lad's  glistening  features  were  recognised. 

Neb,  in  a  word,  had  managed  to  get  on  board  the  ship 
before  she  hauled  out  into  the  stream,  and  lay  concealed 
among"  the  water-casks,  his  pockets  crammed  with  ginger 
bread  and  apples,  until  discovered  by  the  cook,  in  one  of  his 
journeys  in  quest  of  water.  The  food  of  the  lad  had  been 
gone  twenty-four  hours,  and  it  is  not  probable  the  fellow 
could  have  remained  concealed  much  longer,  had  not  this 
discovery  taken  place.  The  instant  he  was  on  deck,  Neb 
looked  eagerly  around  to  ascertain  how  far  the  ship  had  got 
from  the  land,  and,  seeing  nothing  but  water  on  every  side 
of  him,  he  fairly  grinned  with  delight.  This  exasperated 
Mr.  Marble,  who  thought  it  was  adding  insult  to  injury,  and 
he  gave  the  lad  a  cuff  on  the  ear  that  would  have  set  a  white 
reeling.  On  Neb,  however,  this  sharp  blow  produced  no 
effect,  falling  as  it  did  on  the  impregnable  part  of  his  system. 

"  Oh !  you're  a  nigger,  be  you  ?"  exclaimed  the  mate, 
waxing  warmer  and  warmer,  as  he  fancied  himself  baffled 
by  the  other's  powers  of  endurance.  "  Take  that,  and  let  us 
see  if  you're  full-blooded  !" 

A  smart  rap  on  the  shin  accompanying  these  words,  Neb 
gave  in  on  the  instant.  He  begged  for  mercy,  and  professed 
a  readiness  to  tell  all,  protesting  he  was  not  "  a  runaway 
nigger" — a  term  the  mate  used  while  applying  the  kicks. 

I  now  interfered,  by  telling  Mr.  Marble,  with  all  the  re 
spect  due  from  a  green  hand  to  a  chief-mate,  who  Neb  really 
was,  and  what  I  supposed  to  be  his  motives  for  following  me 
to  the  ship.  This  revelation  cost  mo  a  good  deal  in  the  end, 
the  idea  of  Jack's  having  a  "  waiting- man"  on  board  giving 
rise  to  a  great  many  jokes  at  my  expense,  during  the  rest 
of  the  voyage.  Had  I  not  been  so  active,  and  so  willing,  a 
great  source  of  favour  on  board  a  ship,  it  is  probable  these 
jokos  would  have  been  much  broader  and  more  frequent. 


56  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

As  it  was,  they  annoyed  me  a  good  deal ;  and  it  required  a 
strong  exercise  of  all  the  boyish  regard  I  really  entertained 
for  Neb,  to  refrain  from  turning-to  and  giving  him  a  sound 
threshing  for  his  exploit,  at  the  first  good  occasion.  And 
yet,  what  was  his  delinquency  compared  to  my  own  ?  He 
had  followed  his  master  out  of  deep  affection,  blended  some 
what,  it  is  true,  with  a  love  of  adventure ;  while,  in  one 
sense,  I  had  violated  all  the  ties  of  the  heart,  merely  to 
indulge  the  latter  passion. 

The  captain  coming  on  deck,  Neb's  story  was  told,  and, 
finding  that  no  wages  would  be  asked  in  behalf  of  this  ath 
letic,  healthy,  young  negro,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  receiving 
him  into  favour.  To  Neb's  great  delight,  he  was  sent  for 
ward  to  take  m's  share  on  the  yards  and  in  the  rigging, 
there  being  no  vacancy  for  him  to  fill  about  the  camboose, 
or  in  the  cabin.  In  an  hour  the  negro  was  fed,  and  he  was 
regularly  placed  in  the  starboard- watch.  I  was  rejoiced  at 
this  last  arrangement,  as  it  put  the  fellow  in  a  watch  different 
from  my  own,  and  prevented  his  officious  efforts  to  do  my 
work.  Rupert,  I  discovered,  however,  profited  often  by  his 
zeal,  employing  the  willing  black  on  every  possible  occa 
sion.  On  questioning  Neb,  I  ascertained  that  he  had  taken 
the  boat  round  to  the  Wallingford,  and  had  made  use  of  a 
dollar  or  two  I  had  given  him  at  parting,  to  board  in  a  house 
suitable  to  his  colour,  until  the  ship  was  ready  for  sea,  when 
he  got  on  board,  and  stowed  himself  among  the  water-casks, 
as  mentioned. 

Neb's  apparition  soon  ceased  to  be  a  subject  of  discourse, 
and  his  zeal  quickly  made  him  a  general  favourite.  Hardy, 
strong,  resolute,  and  accustomed  to  labour,  he  was  early  of 
great  use  in  all  the  heavy  drags ;  and  aloft,  even,  though 
less  quick  than  a  white  would  have  been,  he  got  to  be  ser 
viceable  and  reasonably  expert.  My  own  progress — and  I 
say  it  without  vanity,  but  simply  because  it  was  true — was 
the  subject  of  general  remark.  One  week  made  me  familiar 
with  the  running  gear  j  and,  by  that  time,  I  could  tell  a  rope 
by  its  size,  the  manner  in  which  it  led,  and  the  place  where 
it  was  belayed,  in  the  darkest  night,  as  well  as  the  oldest 
seaman  on  board.  It  is  true,  my  model-ship  had  prepared 
the  way  for  much  of  this  expertness  ;  but,  free  from  all  sea 
sickness,  of  which  I  never  had  a  moment  in  my  life,  I  set 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  J? 

about  learning  these  things  in  good  earnest,  and  was  >illy 
rewarded  for  my  pains.  I  passed  the  weather-earing  of  the 
mizen-top-sail  when  we  had  been  out  a  fortnight,  and  went 
to  those  of  the  fore  and  main  before  we  crossed  the  line. 
The  mate  put  me  forward  on  all  occasions,  giving  me  much 
instruction  in  private ;  and  the  captain  neglected  no  oppor 
tunity  of  giving  me  useful  hints,  or  practical  ideas.  I  asked, 
and  was  allowed  to  take  my  regular  trick  at  the  wheel, 
before  we  got  into  the  latitude  of  St.  Helena  ;  and  from  that 
time  did  my  full  share  of  seaman's  duty  on  board,  the  nicer 
work  of  knotting,  splicing,  &c.,  excepted.  These  last  re 
quired  a  little  more  time  ;  but  I  am  satisfied  that,  in  all  things 
but  judgment,  a  clever  lad,  who  has  a  taste  for  the  business, 
can  make  himself  a  very  useful  and  respectable  mariner  in 
six  months  of  active  service. 

China  voyages  seldom  produce  much  incident.  If  the 
moment  of  sailing  has  been  judiciously  timed,  the  ship  has 
fair  winds  much  of  the  way,  and  generally  moderate  wea 
ther.  To  be  sure,  there  are  points  on  the  long  road  tha 
usually  give  one  a  taste  of  what  the  seas  sometimes  are  ;  but, 
on  the  whole,  a  Canton  voyage,  though  a  long  one,  cannot 
be  called  a  rough  one.  As  a  matter  of  course,  we  had  gales, 
and  squalls,  and  the  usual  vicissitudes  of  the  ocean,  to  con 
tend  with,  though  our  voyage  to  Canton  might  have  been 
called  quiet,  rather  than  the  reverse.  We  were  four  months 
under  our  canvass,  and,  when  we  anchored  in  the  river,  the 
clewing  up  of  our  sails,  and  getting  from  beneath  their  sha 
dows,  resembled  the  rising  of  a  curtain  on  some  novel  scenic 
representation.  John  Chinaman,  however,  has  been  so  often 
described,  particularly  of  late,  that  I  shall  not  dwei  en  his 
peculiarities.  Sailors,  as  a  class,  are  very  philosophical,  so 
far  as  the  peculiarities  and  habits  of  strangers  are  concerned, 
appearing  to  think  it  beneath  the  dignity  of  those  who  visit 
all  lands,  to  betray  wonder  at  the  novelties  of  any.  It  so 
happened  that  no  man  on  board  the  John,  the  officers,  stew 
ard  and  cook  excepted,  had  ever  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  before  this  voyage ;  and  yet  our  crew  regarded  the 
shorn  polls,  slanting  eyes,  long  queues,  clumsy  dresses,  high 
cheek-bones,  and  lumbering  shoes,  of  the  people  they  now 
saw  for  the  first  time,  with  just  as  much  indifference  as  they 
«vould  have  encountered  a  new  fashion  at  home  Most  of 


68  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

them,  indeed,  had  seen,  or  fancied  they  had  seen,  much 
stranger  sights  in  the  different  countries  they  had  visited ;  it 
being  a  standing  rule  with  Jack  to  compress  everything  that 
is  wonderful  into  the  "  last  voyage" — that  in  which  he  is 
engaged  for  the  present  time  being  usually  set  down  as  com 
mon-place,  and  unworthy  of  particular  comment.  On  this 
principle,  my  Canton  excursion  ought  to  be  full  of  marvels, 
as  it  was  the  progenitor  of  all  that  I  subsequently  saw  and 
experienced  as  a  sailor.  Truth  compels  me  to  confess,  not 
withstanding,  that  it  was  one  of  the  least  wonderful  of  all 
the  voyages  I  ever  made,  until  near  its  close. 

We  lay  some  months  in  the  river,  getting  cargo,  receiving 
teas,  nankins,  silks  and  other  articles,  as  our  supercargo 
could  lay  hands  on  them.  In  all  this  time,  we  saw  just  as 
much  of  the  Chinese  as  it  is  usual  for  strangers  to  see,  and 
not  a  jot  more.  I  was  much  up  at  the  factories  with  the 
captain,  having  charge  of  his  boat ;  and,  as  for  Rupert,  he 
passed  most  of  his  working-hours  either  busy  with  the  super 
cargo  ashore,  or  writing  in  the  cabin.  I  got  a  good  insight, 
however,  into  the  uses  of  the  serving-mallet,  the  fid,  mar- 
linspike  and  winch,  and  did  something  with  the  needle  and 
palm.  Marble  was  very  good  to  me,  in  spite  of  his  nor-west 
face,  and  never  let  slip  an  occasion  to  give  a  useful  hint.  I 
believe  my  exertions  on  the  outward-bound  passage  fully 
equalled  expectations,  and  the  officers  had  a  species  of  pride 
in  helping  to  make  Captain  Wallingford's  son  worthy  of  his 
honourable  descent.  I  had  taken  occasion  to  let  it  he  known 
that  Rupert's  great-grandfather  had  been  a  man-of-war  cap 
tain  ;  but  the  suggestion  was  met  by  a  flat  refusal  to  believe 
it  from  Mr.  Kite,  the  second-mate,  though  Mr.  Marble  re 
marked  it  might  be  so,  as  I  admitted  that  both  his  father 
and  grandfather  had  been,  or  were,  in  the  Church.  My 
friend  seemed  fated  to  achieve  nothing  but  the  glory  of  a 
"  barber's  clerk." 

Our  hatches  were  got  on  and  battened  down,  and  we  sailed 
for  home  early  in  the  spring  of  179S.  The  ship  had  a  good 
run  across  the  China  Sea,  and  reached  the  Indies  in  rather 
a  short  passage.  We  had  cleared  all  the  islands,  and  were 
fairly  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  when  an  adventure  occurred, 
which  was  the  first  really  wort  \y  of  being  related  that  we 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  59 

met  in  the  whole  voyage.  I  shall  give  it,  in  as  few  words 
as  possible. 

We  had  cleared  the  Straits  of  Sunda  early  in  the  morn 
ing,  and  had  made  a  pretty  fair  run  in  the  course  of  the  day, 
though  most  of  the  time  in  thick  weather.  Just  as  the  sun 
set,  however,  the  horizon  became  clear,  and  we  got  a  sight 
of  two  small  sail  seemingly  heading  in  towards  the  coast  of 
Sumatra,  proas  by  their  rig  and  dimensions.  They  were  so 
distant,  and  were  so  evidently  steering  for  the  land,  that  no 
one  gave  them  much  thought,  or  bestowed  on  them  any  par 
ticular  attention.  Proas  in  that  quarter  were  usually  dis 
trusted  by  ships,  it  is  true ;  but  the  sea  is  full  of  them,  and 
far  more  are  innocent  than  are  guilty  of  any  acts  of  violence. 
Then  it  became  dark  soon  after  these  craft  were  seen,  and 
night  shut  them  in.  An  hour  after  the  sun  had  set,  the  wind 
fell  to  a  light  air,  that  just  kept  steerage-way  on  the  ship. 
Fortunately,  the  John  was  not  only  fast,  but  she  minded  her 
helm,  as  a  light-footed  girl  turns  in  a  lively  dance.  I  never 
was  in  a  better-steering  ship,  most  especially  in  moderate 
weather. 

Mr.  Marble  had  the  middle  watch  that  night,  and  of  course 
I  was  on  deck  from  midnight  until  four  in  the  morning.  It 
proved  misty  most  of  the  watch,  and  for  quite  an  hour  we 
had  a  light  drizzling  rain.  The  ship,  the  whole  time,  was 
close-hauled,  carrying  royals.  As  everybody  seemed  to 
have  made  up  his  mind  to  a  quiet  night,  one  without  any 
reefing  or  furling,  most  of  the  watch  were  sleeping  about  the 
decks,  or  wherever  they  could  get  good  quarters,  and  be 
least  in  the  way.  I  do  not  know  what  kept  me  awake,  for 
lads  of  my  age  are  apt  to  get  all  the  sleep  they  can ;  but  I 
believe  I  was  thinking  of  Clawbonny,  and  Grace,  and 
Lucy ;  for  the  latter,  excellent  girl  as  she  was,  often  crossed 
my  mind  in  those  days  of  youth  and  comparative  innocence. 
Awake  I  was,  and  walking  in  the  weather-gangway,  in  a 
sailor's  trot.  Mr.  Marble,  he  I  do  believe  was  fairly  snoozing 
on  the  hen-coops,  being,  like  the  sails,  as  one  might  say, 
barely  w  asleep."  At  that  moment  I  heard  a  noise,  one 
familiar  to  seamen ;  that  of  an  oar  falling  in  a  boat.  So 
completely  was  my  mind  bent  on  other  and  distant  scenes, 
that  at  first  I  felt  no  surprise,  as  if  we  were  in  a  harbour 
surrounded  by  craft  of  various  sizes,  coming  and  going  at  all 


60  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

hours.  But  a  second  thought  destroyed  this  illusion,  and  I 
looked  eagerly  about  me.  Directly  on  our  weather-bow, 
distant  perhaps  a  cable's  length,  I  saw  a  small  sail,  and  I 
could  distinguish  it  sufficiently  well  to  perceive  it  was  a 
proa.  I  sang  out  "  Sail  ho  !  and  close  aboard  !" 

Mr.  Marble  was  on  his  feet  in  an  instant.  He  afterwards 
told  me  that  when  he  opened  his  eyes,  for  he  admitted  this 
much  to  me  in  confidence,  they  fell  directly  on  the  stranger. 
•He  was  too  much  of  a  seaman  to  require  a  second  look,  in 
order  to  ascertain  what  was  to  be  done.  "  Keep  the  ship 
away — keep  her  broad  off!"  he  called  out  to  the  man  at  the 
wheel.  "  Lay  the  yards  square — call  all  hands,  one  of  you 
— Captain  Robbins,  Mr.  Kite,  bear  a  hand  up ;  the  bloody 
proas  are  aboard  us  !"  The  last  part  of  this  call  was  uttered 
in  a  loud  voice,  with  the  speaker's  head  down  the  compa 
nion-way.  It  was  heard  plainly  enough  below,  but  scarcely 
at  all  on  deck. 

In  the  mean  time,  everybody  was  in  motion.  It  is 
amazing  how  soon  sailors  are  wide  awake  when  there  is 
really  anything  to  do  !  It  appeared  to  me  that  all  our  peo 
ple  mustered  on  deck  in  less  than  a  minute,  most  of  them 
with  nothing  on  but  their  shirts  and  trowsers.  The  ship 
was  nearly  before  the  wind,  by  the  time  I  heard  the  cap 
tain's  voice ;  and  then  Mr.  Kite  came  bustling  in  among  us 
forward,  ordering  most  of  the  men  to  lay  aft  to  the  braces, 
remaining  himself  on  the  forecastle,  and  keeping  me  with 
him  to  let  go  me  sheets.  On  the  forecastle,  the  strange  sail 
was  no  longer  visible,  being  now  abaft  the  beam ;  but  1 
could  hear  Mr.  Marble  swearing  there  were  two  of  them, 
and  that  they  must  be  the  very  chaps  we  had  seen  to  lee 
ward,  and  standing  in  for  the  land,  at  sunset.  I  also  heard 
the  captain  calling  out  to  the  steward  to  bring  him  a  powder- 
horn.  Immediately  after,  orders  were  given  to  let  fly  all 
our  sheets  forward,  and  then  I  perceived  that  they  were 
waring  ship.  Nothing  saved  us  but  the  prompt  order  of 
Mr.  Marble  to  keep  the  ship  away,  by  which  means,  instead 
of  moving1  towards  the  proas,  we  instantly  began  to  move 
from  them.  Although  they  went  three  feet  to  our  two,  this 
gave  us  a  moment  of  breathing  time. 

As  our  sheets  were  all  flying  forward,  and  remained  so 
for  a  few  minutes,  it  gave  me  leisure  to  look  about.  I  soon 


AFLOAT     AJTD     ASHORE.  61 

saw  both  proas,  and  glad  enough  was  I  to  perceive  that  they 
had  not  approached  materially  nearer.  Mr.  Kite  observed 
this  also,  and  remarked  that  our  movements  had  been  so 
prompt  as  "  to  take  the  rascals  aback."  He  meant,  they 
did  not  exactly  know  what  we  were  at,  and  had  not  kept 
away  with  us. 

At  this  instant,  the  captain  and  five  or  six  of  the  oldest 
seamen  began  to  cast  loose  all  our  starboard,  or  weather 
guns,  four  in  all,  and  sixes.  We  had  loaded  these  guns  in 
the  Straits  of  Banca,  with  grape  and  canister,  in  readiness 
for  just  such  pirates  as  were  now  coming  down  upon  us ; 
and  nothing  was  wanting  but  the  priming,  and  a  hot  logger 
head.  It  seems  two  of  the  last  had  been  ordered  in  the  fire, 
when  we  saw  the  proas  at  sunset ;  and  they  were  now  in 
excellent  condition  for  service,  live  coals  being  kept  aroun 
them  all  night  by  command.  I  saw  a  cluster  of  men  busy 
with  the  second  gun  from  forward,  and  could  distinguish  the 
captain  pointing  it. 

"  There  cannot  well  be  any  mistake,  Mr.  Marble  T  the 
captain  observed,  hesitating  whether  to  fire  or  not 

"  Mistake,  sir '!  Lord,  Captain  Robbins,  you  might  can 
nonade  any  of  the  islands  astarn  for  a  week,  and  never  hurt 
an  honest  man.  Let  'em  have  it,  sir ;  Til  answer  for  it,  you 
do  good." 

This  settled  the  matter.  The  loggerhead  was  applied, 
and  one  of  our  sixes  spoke  out  in  a  smart  report.  A  breath 
less  stillness  succeeded.  The  proas  did  not  alter  their 
course,  but  neared  us  fast.  The  captain  levelled  his  night- 
glass,  and  I  heard  him  tell  Kite,  in  a  low  voice,  that  they 
were  full  of  men.  The  word  was  now  passed  to  clear  away 
all  the  guns,  and  to  open  the  arm-chest,  to  come  at  the  mus 
kets  and  pistols.  I  heard  the  rattling  of  the  boarding-pikes, 
too,  as  they  were  cut  adrift  from  the  spanker-boorn,  and  fell 
upon  the  deck.  All  this  sounded  very  ominous,  and  I  began 
to  think  we  should  have  a  desperate  engagement  first,  and 
then  have  all  our  throats  cut  afterwards. 

I  expected  now  to  hear  the  guns  discharged  in  quick  suc 
cession,  but  they  were  got  ready  only,  not  fired.  Kite  went 
aft,  and  returned  with  three  or  four  muskets,  and  as  many 
pikes.  He  give  the  latter  to  those  of  the  people  who  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  guns.  By  this  time  the  ship  was  on 
6 


62  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

a  wind,  steering  a  good  full,  while  the  two  proas  were  just 
abeam,  and  closing  fast.  The  stillness  that  reigned  on  both 
sides  was  like  that  of  death.  The  proas,  however,  fell  a  little 
more  astern  ;  the  result  of  their  own  manoeuvring,  out  of  all 
doubt,  as  they  moved  through  the  water  much  faster  than 
the  ship,  seeming  desirous  of  dropping  into  our  wake,  with 
a  design  of  closing  under  our  stern,  and  avoiding  our  broad 
side.  As  this  would  never  do,  and  the  wind  freshened  so  as 
to  give  us  four  or  five  knot  way,  a  most  fortunate  circum 
stance  for  us,  the  captain  determined  to  tack  while  he  had 
room.  The  John  behaved  beautifully,  and  came  round  like 
a  top.  The  proas  saw  there  was  no  time  to  lose,  and  at 
tempted  to  close  before  we  could  fill  again ;  and  this  they 
would  have  done  with  ninety-nine  ships  in  a  hundred.  The 
captain  knew  his  vessel,  however,  and  did  not  let  her  lose 
her  way,  making  everything  draw  again  as  it  might  be  by 
instinct.  The  proas  tacked,  too,  and,  laying  up  much  nearer 
to  the  wind  than  we  did,  appeared  as  if  about  to  close  on  our 
lee-bow.'  The  question  was,  now,  whether  we  could  pass 
them  or  not  before  they  got  near  enough  to  grapple.  If  the 
pirates  got  on  board  us,  we  were  hopelessly  gone  ;  and  every 
thing  depended  on  coolness  and  judgment.  The  captain 
behaved  perfectly  well  in  this  critical  instant,  commanding 
a  dead  silence,  and  the  closest  attention  to  his  orders. 

I  was  too  much  interested  at  this  moment  to  feel  the  con 
cern  that  I  might  otherwise  have  experienced.  On  the  fore 
castle,  it  appeared  to  us  all  that  we  should  be  boarded  in  a 
minute,  for  one  of  the  proas  was  actually  within  a  hundred 
feet,  though  losing  her  advantage  a  little  by  getting  under 
the  lee  of  our  sails.  Kite  had  ordered  us  to  muster  forward 
of  the  rigging,  to  meet  the  expected  leap  with  a  discharge  of 
muskets,  and  then  to  present  our  pikes,  when  I  felt  an  arm 
thrown  aro\md  my  body,  and  was  turned  in-board,  while 
another  person  assumed  my  place.  This  was  Neb,  who  had 
thus  coolly  thrust  himself  before  me,  in  order  to  meet  the 
dan§pr  first.  I  felt  vexed,  even  while  touched  with  the  fel 
low's  attachment  and  self-devotion,  but  had  no  time  to  betray 
either  feeling  before  the  crews  of  the  proas  gave  a  yell,  and 
discharged  some  fifty  or  sixty  matchlocks  at  us.  The  air 
was  full  of  bullets,  but  they  all  went  over  our  heads.  Not 
a  soul  on  boar  1  the  John  was  hurt.  On  our  side,  we  gave 


AFLOA.T     AND     ASHORE.  63 

the  gentlemen  the  four  sixes,  two  at  the  nearest  and  two  at 
the  sternmost  proa,  which  was  still  near  a  cable's  length 
distant.  As  often  happens,  the  one  seemingly  farthest  from 
danger,  fared  the  worst.  Our  grape  and  canister  had  room 
to  scatter,  and  I  can  at  this  distant  day  still  hear  the  shrieks 
that  arose  from  that  craft !  They  were  like  the  yells  of 
fiends  in  anguish.  The  effect  on  that  proa  was  instanta 
neous  ;  instead  of  keeping  on  after  her  consort,  she  wore 
short  round  on  her  heel,  and  stood  away  in  our  wake,  on 
the  other  tack,  apparently  to  get  o.ut  of  the  range  of  our  fire. 

I  doubt  if  we  touched  a  man  in  the  nearest  proa.  At  any 
rate,  no  noise  proceeded  from  her,  and  she  came  up  under 
our  bows  fast.  As  every  gun  was  discharged,  and  there 
was  not  time  to  load  them,  all  now  depended  on  repelling  the 
boarders.  Part  of  our  people  mustered  in  the  waist,  where 
it  was  expected  the  proa  would  fall  alongside,  and  part  on 
the  forecastle.  Just  as  this  distribution  was  made,  the  pirates 
cast  their  grapnel.  It  was  admirably  thrown,  but  caught 
only  by  a  ratlin.  I  saw  this,  and  was  about  to  jump  into 
the  rigging  to  try  what  I  could  do  to  clear  it,  when  Neb 
again  went  ahead  of  me,  and  cut  the  ratlin  with  his  knife. 
This  was  just  as  the  pirates  had  abandoned  sails  and  oars, 
and  had  risen  to  haul  up  alongside.  So  sudden  was  the 
release,  that  twenty  of  them  fell  over  by  their  own  efforts. 
In  this  state  the  ship  passed  ahead,  all  her  canvass  being 
full,  leaving  the  proa  motionless  in  her  wake.  In  passing, 
however,  the  two  vessels  were  so  near,  that  those  aft  in  the 
John  distinctly  saw  the  swarthy  faces  of  their  enemies. 

We  were  no  sooner  clear  of  the  proas  than  the  order  was 
given,  "  ready  about !"  The  helm  was  put  down,  and  the 
ship  came  into  the  wind  in  a  minute.  As  we  came  square 
with  the  two  proas,  all  our  larboard  guns  were  given  to 
them,  and  this  ended  the  affair.  I  think  the  nearest  of  the 
rascals  got  it  this  time,  for  away  she  went,  after  her  con 
sort,  both  running  off  towards  the  islands.  We  made  a 
little  show  of  chasing,  but  it  was  only  a  feint ;  for  we  were 
too  glad  to  get  away  from  them,  to  be  in  earnest.  In  ten 
minutes  after  we  tacked  the  last  time,  we  ceased  firing,  hav 
ing  thrown  some  e:ght  or  ten  round-shot  after  the  proas,  and 
were  close-hauled  again,  heading  to  the  south-west. 


64  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  we  went  to  sleep  again  imme 
diately.  Neb  was  the  only  man  on  board  who  did,  but  he 
never  missed  an  occasion  to  eat  or  sleep.  The  captain 
praised  us,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course  in  that  day,  he  called 
all  hands  to  "  splice  the  main-brace."  After  this,  the  watch 
was  told  to  go  below,  as  regularly  as  if  nothing  had  hap 
pened.  As  for  the  captain  himself,  he  and  Mr.  Marble  and 
Mr.  Kite  went  prying  about  the  ship  to  ascertain  if  anything 
material  had  been  cut  by  what  the  chief-mate  called  "  the 
bloody  Indian  matchlocks."  A  little  running-rigging  had 
suffered,  and  we  had  to  reeve  a  few  new  ropes  in  the  morn 
ing  ;  but  this  terminated  the  affair. 

I  need  hardly  say,  all  hands  of  us  were  exceedingly 
proud  of  our  exploit.  Everybody  was  praised  but  Neb, 
who,  being  a  "  nigger,"  was  in  some  way  or  other  over- 
looked.  I  mentioned  his  courage  and  readiness  to  Mr 
Marble,  but  I  could  excite  in  no  one  else  the  same  respect 
for  the  poor  fellow's  conduct,  that  I  certainly  felt  myself.  I 
have  since  lived  long  enough  to  know  that  as  the  gold  of  the 
rich  attracts  to  itself  the  gold  of  the  poor,  so  do  the  deeds  of 
the  unknown  go  to  swell  the  fame  of  the  known.  This  is 
as  true  of  nations,  and  races,  and  families,  as  it  is  of  indi 
viduals  ;  poor  Neb  belonging  to  a  proscribed  colour,  it  was 
not  in  reason  to  suppose  he  could  ever  acquire  exactly  the 
same  credit  as  a  white  man. 

"  Them  darkies  do  sometimes  blunder  on  a  lucky  idee," 
answered  Mr.  Marble  to  one  of  my  earnest  representations, 
"  and  I  've  known  chaps  among  'em  that  were  almost  as 
knowing  as  dullish  whites ;  but  everything  out  of  the  com 
mon  way  with  'em  is  pretty  much  chance.  As  for  Neb, 
however,  I  will  say  this  for  him  ;  that,  for  a  nigger,  he  takes 
things  quicker  than  any  of  his  colour  I  ever  sailed  with. 
Then  he  has  no  sa'ce,  and  that  is  a  good  deal  with  a  black 
White  sa'ce  is  bad  enough;  but  that  of  a  nigger  is  unbear* 
able." 

Alas !  Neb.  Born  in  slavery,  accustomed  to  consider  it 
arrogance  to  think  of  receiving  even  his  food  until  the 
meanest  white  had  satisfied  his  appetite,  subnrssive,  unre- 
pining,  laborious  and  obedient — the  highest  eulogmm  that 
all  these  patient  and  unobtrusive  qualities  could  obtain,  was 
a  reluctant  acknowledgment  that  he  had  "  no  sa'ce."  His 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  65 

quickness  and  courage  saved  the  John,  nevertheless ;  and  I 
have  always  said  it,  and  ever  shall. 

A  day  after  the  affair  of  the  proas,  all  hands  of  us  began 
to  brag.  Even  the  captain  was  a  little  seized  with  this  ma 
nia  ;  and  as  for  Marble,  he  was  taken  so  badly,  that,  had  t 
not  known  he  behaved  well  in  the  emergency,  I  certainly 
should  have  set  him  down  as  a  Bobadil.  Rupert  manifested 
this  feeling,  too,  though  I  heard  he  did  his  duty  that  night. 
The  result  of  all  the  talk  was  to  convert  the  affair  into  a 
very  heroic  exploit ;  and  it  subsequently  figured  in  the  jour 
nals  as  one  of  the  deeds  that  illustrate  the  American  name. 

From  the  time  we  were  rid  of  the  proas,  the  ship  got 
along  famously  until  we  were  as  far  west  as  about  52°,  when 
the  wind  came  light  from  the  southward  and  westward,  with 
thick  weather.  The  captain  had  been  two  or  three  times 
caught  in  here,  and  he  took  it  into  his  head  that  the  currents 
would  prove  more  favourable,  could  he  stand  in  closer  to  the 
coast  of  Madagascar  than  common.  Accordingly,  we  brought 
the  ship  on  a  bowline,  and  headed  up  well  to  the  northward 
and  westward.  We  were  a  week  on  this  tack,  making  from 
fifty  to  a  hundred  miles  a  day,  expecting  hourly  to  see  the 
land.  At  length  we  made  it,  enormously  high  mountains, 
apparently  a  long  distance  from  us,  though,  as  we  after 
wards  ascertained,  a  long  distance  inland  ;  and  we  continued 
to  near  it.  The  captain  had  a  theory  of  his  own  about  the 
currents  of  this  part  of  the  ocean,  and,  having  set  one  of  the 
peaks  by  compass,  at  the  time  the  land  was  seen,  he  soon 
convinced  himself,  and  everybody  else  whom  he  tried  to 
persuade,  Marble  excepted,  that  we  were  setting  to  windward 
with  visible  speed.  Captain  Robbins  was  a  well-meaning, 
but  somewhat  dull  man  ;  and,  when  dull  men  become  theo 
rists,  they  usually  make  sad  work  with  the  practice. 

AH  that  night  we  stood  on  to  the  northward  and  west 
ward,  though  Mr.  Marble  had  ventured  a  remonstrance 
concerning  a  certain  head-land  that  was  just  visible,  a  little 
on  our  weather-bow.  The  captain  snapped  his  fingers  at 
this,  however ;  laying  down  a  course  of  reasoning,  which, 
if  it  were  worth  anything,  ought  to  have  convinced  the  mate 
that  the  weatherly  set  of  the  current  would  carry  us  ten 
leagues  to  the  southward  and  westward  of  that  cape,  before 
6* 


66  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

morning.  On  this  assurance,  w^  prepared  to  pass  a  quiet 
and  comfortable  night. 

I  had  the  morning  watch,  and  when  I  came  on  deck,  at 
four,  there  was  no  change  in  the  weather.  Mr.  Marble  soon 
appeared,  and  he  walked  into  the  waist,  where  I  was  leaning 
on  the  weather- rail,  and  fell  into  discourse.  This  he  often 
did,  sometimes  so  far  forgetting  the  difference  in  our  stations 
afloat — not  ashore  ;  there  I  had  considerably  the  advantage 
of  him — as  occasionally  to  call  me  "  sir."  I  always  paid 
for  this  inadvertency,  however,  it  usually  putting  a  stop  to 
the  communications  for  the  time  being.  In  one  instance,  he 
took  such  prompt  revenge  for  this  implied  admission  of 
equality,  as  literally  to  break  off  short  in  the  discourse,  and 
to  order  me,  in  his  sharpest  key,  to  go  aloft  and  send  some 
studding-sails  on  deck,  though  they  all  had  to  be  sent  aloft 
again,  and  set,  in  the  course  of  the  same  watch.  But  offend 
ed  dignity  is  seldom  considerate,  and  not  always  consistent. 

"  A  quiet  night,  Master  Miles" — this  the  mate  could  call 
me,  as  it  implied  superiority  on  his  part — "  A  quiet  night, 
^Master  Miles,"  commenced  Mr.  Marble,  "  and  a  strong  west 
erly  current,  accordin'  to  Captain  Bobbins.  Well,  to  my 
taste  gooseberries  are  better  than  currents,  and  Fd  go 
about.  That  's  my  manner  of  generalizing ." 

"  The  captain,  I  suppose,  sir,  from  that,  is  of  a  different 
opinion  ?" 

"  Why,  yes,  somewhatish — though  I  don't  think  he  knows 
himself  exactly  what  his  own  opinion  is.  This  is  the  third 
v'y'ge  I  Ve  sailed  with  the  old  gentleman,  and  he  is  half  his 
time  in  a  fog  or  a  current.  Now,  it 's  his  idee  the  ocean  is 
full  of  Mississippi  rivers,  and  if  one  could  only  find  the  head  of 
a  stream,  he  might  go  round  the  world  in  it.  More  particu 
larly  does  he  hold  that  there  is  no  fear  of  the  land  when  in 
a  current,  as  a  stream  never  sets  on  shore.  For  my  part,  I 
never  want  any  better  hand-lead  than  my  nose." 

"Nose,  Mr.  Marble?" 

"  Yes,  nose,  Master  Miles.  Haven't  you  remarked  how 
far  we  smelt  the  Injees,  as  we  went  through  the  islands  ?" 

"  It  is  true,  sir,  the  Spice  Islands,  and  all  land,  they 
say " 

"What  the  devil's  that?"  asked  the  mate,  evidently 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  67 

startled  at  something  he  heard,  though  he  appeared  to  smell 
nothing,  unless  indeed  it  might  be  a  rat. 

"  It  sounds  like  water  washing  on  rocks,  sir,  as  much  as 
anything  I  ever  heard  in  my  life !" 

"  Ready  about !"  shouted  the  mate.  "  Run  down  and  call 
the  captain,  Miles  —  hard  a-lee  —  start  everybody  up,  for 
ward." 

A  scene  of  confusion  followed,  in  the  midst  of  which  the 
captain,  second-mate,  and  the  watch  below,  appeared  on 
deck.  Captain  Robbins  took  command,  of  course,  and  was 
in  time  to  haul  the  after-yards,  the  ship  coming  round  slowly 
in  so  light  a  wind.  Come  round  she  did,  however,  and, 
when  her  head  was  fairly  to  the  southward  and  eastward, 
the  captain  demanded  an  explanation.  Mr.  Marble  did  not 
feel  disposed  to  trust  his  nose  any  longer,  but  he  invited  the 
captain  to  use  his  ears.  This  all  hands  did,  and,  if  sounds 
could  be  trusted,  we  had  a  pretty  lot  of  breakers  seemingly 
all  around  us. 

"  We  surely  can  go  out  the  way  we  came  in,  Mr.  Mar 
ble  ?"  said  the  captain,  anxiously. 

"  Yes,  sir,  if  there  were  no  current ;  but  one  never  knows 
where  a  bloody  current  will  carry  him  in  the  dark." 

"  Stand  by  to  let  go  the  anchor !"  cried  the  captain.  "  Let 
run  and  clew  up,  forward  and  aft.  Let  go  as  soon  as  you're 
ready,  Mr.  Kite." 

Luckily,  we  had  kept  a  cable  bent  as  we  came  through 
the  Straits,  and,  not  knowing  but  we  might  touch  at  the 
Isle  of  France,  it  was  still  bent,  with  the  anchor  fished. 
We  had  talked  of  stowing  the  latter  in-board,  but,  having 
land  in  sight,  it  was  not  done.  In  two  minutes  it  was 
a-cock-bill,  and,  in  two  more,  let  go.  None  knew  whether 
we  should  find  a  bottom  ;  but  Kite  soon  sang  out  to  "  snub," 
the  anchor  being  down,  with  only  six  fathoms  out.  The 
lead  corroborated  this,  and  we  had  the  comfortable  assurance 
of  being  not  only  among  breakers,  but  just  near  the  coast. 
The  holding-ground,  however,  was  reported  good,  and  we 
went  to  work  and  rolled  up  all  our  rags.  In  half  an  hour 
the  ship  was  snug,  riding  by  the  stream,  with  a  strong  cur 
rent,  or  tide,  setting  exactly  north-east,  or  directly  opposite 
jo  the  captain's  theory.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Marble  had  ascer- 


68  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

tained  this  fact,  I  overheard  him  grumbling  about  something, 
of  which  I  could  distinctly  understand  nothing  but  the  words 
"  tloody  cape — bloody  current." 


CHAPTER   V. 

**  They  hurried  us  aboard  a  bark ; 
Bore  us  some  leagues  to  sea ;  where  they  prepared 
A  rotten  carcass  of  a  boat,  not  rigg'd, 
Nor  tackle,  sail,  nor  mast :  the  very  rats 
Instinctively  had  girt  us — " 

Tempest. 

THE  hour  that  succeeded  in  the  calm  of  expectation,  was 
one  of  the  most  disquieting  of  my  life.  As  soon  as  the  ship 
was  secured,  and  there  no  longer  remained  anything  to  do, 
the  stillness  of  death  reigned  among  us ;  the  faculties  of 
every  man  and  boy  appearing  to  be  absorbed  in  the  single 
sense  of  hearing — the  best,  and  indeed  the  only,  means  we 
then  possessed  of  judging  of  our  situation.  It  was  now 
apparent  that  we  were  near  some  place  or  places  where  the 
surf  was  breaking  on  land  ;  and  the  hollow,  not-to-be-mis 
taken  bellowings  of  the  element,  too  plainly  indicated  that 
cavities  in  rocks  frequently  received,  and  as  often  rejected, 
the  washing  waters.  Nor  did  these  portentous  sounds  come 
from  one  quarter  only,  but  they  seemed  to  surround  us  ;  now 
reaching  our  ears  from  the  known  direction  of  the  land,  now 
from  the  south,  the  north-east,  and,  in  fact,  from  every 
direction.  There  were  instances  when  these  moanings  of 
the  ocean  sounded  as  if  close  under  our  stern,  and  then 
again  they  came  from  some  point  within  a  fearful  proximity 
to  the  bows. 

Happily  the  wind  was  light,  and  the  ship  rode  with  a  mo 
derate  strain  on  the  cable,  so  as  to  relieve  us  from  the  appre 
hension  of  immediate  destruction.  There  was  a  long,  heavy 
ground-swell  rolling  in  from  the  south-west,  but,  the  lead 
giving  us  eight  fathoms,  the  sea  did  not  break  exactly  where 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  69 

we  lay ;  though  the  sullen  washing  that  came  to  our  ears, 
from  time  to  time,  gave  unerring  notice  that  it  was  doing  so 
quite  near  us,  independently  of  the  places  where  it  broke 
upon  rocks.  At  one  time  the  captain's  impatience  was  so 
goading,  that  he  had  determined  to  pull  round  the  anchorage 
in  a  boat,  in  order  to  anticipate  the  approach  of  light;  but  a 
suggestion  from  Mr.  Marble  that  he  might  unconsciously 
pull  into  a  roller,  and  capsize,  induced  him  to  wait  for  day. 

The  dawn  appeired  at  last,  after  two  or  three  of  the  long 
est  hours  I  remember  ever  to  have  passed.  Never  shall  I 
forget  the  species  of  furious  eagerness  with  which  we  gazed 
about  us.  In  the  first  place,  we  got  an  outline  of  the  adja 
cent  land ;  then,  as  light  diffused  itself  more  and  more  into 
the  atmosphere,  we  caught  glimpses  of  its  details.  It  was 
soon  certain  we  were  within  a  cable's  length  of  perpendicu 
lar  cliffs  of  several  hundred  feet  in  height,  into  whose  caverns 
the  sea  poured  at  times,  producing  those  frightful,  hollow 
meanings,  that  an  experienced  ear  can  never  mistake.  This 
cliff  extended  for  leagues  in  both  directions,  rendering  drown 
ing  nearly  inevitable  to  the  shipwrecked  mariner  on  that 
inhospitable  coast.  Ahead,  astern,  outside  of  us,  and  I  might 
almost  say  all  around  us,  became  visible,  one  after  another, 
detached  ledges,  breakers  and  ripples ;  so  many  proofs  of 
the  manner  in  which  Providence  had  guided  us  through  the 
hours  of  darkness. 

By  the  time  the  sun  appeared,  for,  happily,  the  day  proved 
bright  and  clear,  we  had  obtained  pretty  tolerable  notions  of 
the  critical  situation  in  which  we  were  placed  by  means  of 
the  captain's  theory  of  currents.  The  very  cape  that  we 
were  to  drift  past,  lay  some  ten  leagues  nearly  dead  to  wind 
ward,  as  the  breeze  then  was ;  while  to  leeward,  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach,  stretched  the  same  inhospitable  barrier  of 
rock  as  that  which  lay  on  our  starboard  quarter  and  beam. 
Such  was  my  first  introduction  to  the  island  of  Madagascar ; 
a  portion  of  the  world,  of  which,  considering  its  position, 
magnitude  and  productions,  the  mariners  of  Christendom 
probably  know  less  than  of  any  other.  At  the  time  of  which 
I  am  writing,  far  less  had  been  learned  of  this  vast  country 
than  is  known  to-day,  though  the  knowledge  of  even  our 
own  immediate  contemporaries  is  of  an  exceedingly  limited 
character. 


70  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

Now  that  the  day  had  returned,  the  sun  was  shining  on 
us  cheerfully,  and  the  sea  looked  tranquil  and  assuring,  the 
captain  became  more  pacified.  He  had  discretion  enough 
to  understand  that  time  and  examination  were  indispensable 
to  moving  the  ship  with  safety  ;  and  he  took  the  wise  course 
of  ordering  the  people  to  get  their  breakfasts,  before  he  set 
us  at  work.  The  hour  that  was  thus  employed  forward, 
was  passed  aft  in  examining  the  appearance  of  the  water, 
and  the  positions  of  the  reefs  around  the  ship.  By  the  time 
we  were  through,  the  captain  had  swallowed  his  cup  of 
coffee  and  eaten  his  biscuit ;  and,  calling  away  four  of  the 
most  athletic  oarsmen,  he  got  into  the  jolly-boat,  and  set  out 
on  the  all-important  duty  of  discovering  a  channel  sea-ward. 
The  lead  was  kept  moving,  and  I  shall  leave  the  party  thus 
employed  for  an  hour  or  more,  while  we  turn  our  attention 
in-board. 

Marble  beckoned  me  aft,  as  soon  as  Captain  Robbins  was 
in  the  boat,  apparently  with  a  desire  to  say  something  in 
private.  I  understood  the  meaning  of  his  eye,  and  followed 
him  down  into  the  steerage,  where  all  that  was  left  of  the 
ship's  water  was  now  stowed,  that  on  deck  having  been 
already  used.  The  mate  had  a  certain  consciousness  about 
him  that  induced  great  caution,  and  he  would  not  open  his 
lips  until  he  had  rummaged  about  below  some  time,  affecting 
to  look  for  a  set  of  blocks  that  might  be  wanted  for  some 
purpose  or  other,  on  deck.  When  this  had  lasted  a  little 
time,  he  turned  short  round  to  me,  and  let  out  the  secret  of 
the  whole  manoeuvre. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what,  Master  Miles,"  he  said,  making  a  sign 
with  a  finger  to  be  cautious,  "  I  look  upon  this  ship's  berth 
as  worse  than  that  of  a  city  scavenger.  We  've  plenty  of 
water  all  round  us,  and  plenty  of  rocks,  too.  If  we  knew 
the  way  back,  there  is  no  wind  to  carry  us  through  it,  among 
these  bloody  currents,  and  there  's  no  harm  in  getting  ready 
for  the  worst.  So  do  you  get  Neb  and  the  gentleman" — 
Rupert  was  generally  thus  styled  in  the  ship — "and  clear 
away  the  launch  first.  Get  everything  out  of  it  that  don't 
belong  there ;  after  which,  do  you  put  these  breakers  in,  and 
wait  for  further  orders.  Make  no  fuss,  putting  all  upon 
orders,  and  leave  the  rest  to  me." 

I  complied,  of  course,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  launch 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  71 

was  clear.  While  busy,  however,  Mr.  Kite  came  past,  and 
desired  to  know  "  what  are  you  at  there  ?"  I  told  him  'twas 
Mr.  Marble's  orders,  and  the  latter  gave  his  own  explanation 
of  the  matter. 

"  The  launch  may  be  wanted,"  he  said,  "  for  I  've  no 
notion  that  jolly-boat  will  do  to  go  out  as  far  as  we  shall 
find  it  necessary  to  sound.  So  I  am  about  to  ballast  the 
launch,  and  get  her  sails  ready  ;  there 's  no  use  in  mincing 
matters  in  such  a  berth  as  this." 

Kite  approved  of  the  idea,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  sug 
gest  that  it  might  be  well  enough  to  get  the  launch  into  the 
water  at  once,  by  way  of  saving  time.  The  proposition  was 
too  agreeable  to  be  rejected,  and,  to  own  the  truth,  all  hands 
went  to  work  to  get  up  the  tackles  with  a  will,  as  it  is  called. 
In  half  an  hour  the  boat  was  floating  alongside  the  ship. 
Some  said  she  would  certainly  be  wanted  to  carry  out  the 
stream-anchor,  if  for  nothing  else;  others  observed  that  half 
a  dozen  boats  would  not  be  enough  to  find  all  the  channel  we 
wanted ;  while  Marble  kept  his  eye,  though  always  in  an 
underhand  way,  on  his  main  object.  The  breakers  we  got 
in  and  stowed,  filled  with  fresh  water,  by  way  of  ballast. 
The  masts  were  stepped,  the  oars  were  put  on  board,  and  a 
spare  compass  was  passed  down,  lest  the  ship  might  be  lost 
in  the  thick  weather,  of  which  there  was  so  much,  just  in 
that  quarter  of  the  world.  All  this  was  said  and  done  so 
quietly,  that  nobody  took  the  alarm ;  and  when  the  mate 
called  out,  in  a  loud  voice,  "  Miles,  pass  a  bread-bag  filled 
and  some  cold  grub  into  that  launch — the  men  may  be  hun 
gry  before  they  get  back,"  no  one  seemed  to  think  more 
was  meant  than  was  thus  openly  expressed.  I  had  my  pri 
vate  orders,  however,  and  managed  to  get  quite  a  hundred 
weight  of  good  cabin  biscuit  into  the  launch,  while  the  cook 
was  directed  to  fill  his  coppers  with  pork.  I  got  some  of 
the  latter  raw  into  the  boat,  too ;  raw  pork  being  food  that 
sailors  in  no  manner  disdain.  They  say  it  eats  like  chest- 
nuts. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  captain  was  busy  in  his  exploring 
expedition,  on  the  return  from  which  he  appeared  to  think 
he  was  better  rewarded  than  has  certainly  fallen  to  the  lot 
of  others  employed  on  another  expedition  which  bears  _ne 
same  name.  He  was  absent  near  two  hours,  and,  when  he 


72  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

got  back,  it  was  to  renew  his  theory  of  what  Mr.  Marble 
called  his  "  bloody  currents." 

"  I  've  got  behind  the  curtain,  Mr.  Marble,"  commenced 
Captain  Robbins,  before  he  was  fairly  alongside  of  the  ship 
again,  whereupon  Marble  muttered  "  ay !  ay !  you  've  got 
behind  the  rocks,  too !"  "  It 's  all  owing  to  an  eddy  that  is 
made  in-shore  by  the  main  current,  and  we  have  stretched 
a  leetle  too  far  in." 

Even  I  thought  to  myself,  what  would  have  become  of  us 
had  we  stretched  a  leetle  further  in  !  The  captain,  however, 
seemed  satisfied  that  he  could  carry  the  ship  out,  and,  as 
this  was  all  we  wanted,  no  one  was  disposed  to  be  very  cri 
tical.  A  word  was  said  about  the  launch,  which  the  mate 
had  ordered  to  be  dropped  astern,  out  of  the  way,  and  the 
explanation  seemed  to  mystify  the  captain.  In  the  mean 
while,  the  pork  was  boiling  furiously  in  the  coppers. 

All  hands  were  now  called  to  get  the  anchor  up.  Rupert 
and  I  went  aloft  to  loosen  sails,  and  we  staid  there  until  the 
royals  were  mast-headed.  In  a  very  few  minutes  the  cable 
was  up  and  down,  and  then  came  the  critical  part  of  the 
whole  affair.  The  wind  was  still  very  light,  and  it  was  a 
question  whether  the  ship  could  be  carried  past  a  reef  of 
rocks  that  now  began  to  show  itself  above  water,  and  on 
which  the  long,  heavy  rollers,  that  came  undulating  from 
the  south-western  Atlantic,  broke  with  a  sullen  violence  that 
betrayed  how  powerful  was  the  ocean,  even  in  its  moments 
of  slumbering  peacefulness.  The  rising  and  falling  of  its 
surface  was  like  that  of  some  monster's  chest,  as  he  respired 
heavily  in  sleep. 

Even  the  captain  hesitated  about  letting  go  his  hold  of  the 
bottom,  with  so  strong  a  set  of  the  water  to  leeward,  and  in 
so  light  a  breeze.  There  was  a  sort  of  bight  on  our  star 
board  bow,  however,  and  Mr.  Marble  suggested  it  might  be 
well  to  sound  in  that  direction,  as  the  water  appeared  smooth 
and  deep.  To  him  it  looked  as  if  there  were  really  an  eddy 
in-shore,  which  might  hawse  the  ship  up  to  windward  six  or 
eight  times  her  length,  and  thus  more  than  meet  the  loss 
that  must  infallibly  occur  in  first  casting  her  head  to  sea 
ward.  The  captain  admitted  the  justice  of  this  suggestion, 
and  I  was  one  of  those  who  were  told  to  go  in  the  jolly-boat 
on  this  occasion.  We  pulled  in  towards  the  cliffs,  and  had 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  73 

not  gone  fifty  yards  before  we  struck  an  eddy,  sure  enough, 
which  was  quite  as  strong  as  the  current  in  which  the  ship 
lay.  This  was  a  great  advantage,  and  so  much  the  more, 
because  the  water  was  of  sufficient  depth,  quite  up  to  the 
edge  of  the  reef  which  formed  the  bight,  and  thus  produced 
the  change  in  the  direction  of  the  set.  There  was  plenty  of 
room,  too,  to  handle  the  ship  in,  and,  all  things  considered, 
the  discovery  was  extremely  fortunate.  In  the  bottom  of 
this  bight  we  should  have  gone  ashore,  the  previous  night, 
had  not  our  ears  been  so  much  better  than  our  noses. 

As  soon  as  certain  of  the  facts,  the  captain  pulled  back  to 
the  ship,  and  gladdened  the  hearts  of  all  on  board  with  the 
tidings.  We  now  manned  the  handspikes  cheerily,  and 
began  to  heave.  I  shall  never  forget  the  impression  made 
on  me  by  the  rapid  drift  of  the  ship,  as  soon  as  the  anchor 
was  off  the  bottom,  and  her  bows  were  cast  in-shore,  in  order 
to  fill  the  sails.  The  land  was  so  near  that  I  noted  this  drift 
by  the  rocks,  and  my  heart  was  fairly  in  my  mouth  for  a 
few  seconds.  But  the  John  worked  beautifully,  and  soon 
gathered  way.  Her  bows  did  not  not  strike  the  eddy,  how 
ever,  until  we  got  fearful  evidence  of  the  strength  of  the  true 
current,  which  had  set  us  down  nearly  as  low  as  the  reef 
outside,  to  windward  of  which  it  was  indispensable  for  us  to 
pass.  Marble  saw  all  this,  and  he  whispered  me  to  tell  the 
cook  to  pass  the  pork  into  the  launch  at  once — not  to  mind 
whether  it  were  particularly  well  done,  or  not.  I  obeyed, 
and  had  to  tend  the  fore-sheet  myself,  for  my  pains,  when 
the  order  was  given  to  "  ready  about." 

The  eddy  proved  a  true  friend,  but  it  did  not  carry  us  up 
much  higher  than  the  place  where  we  had  anchored,  when 
it  became  necessary  to  tack.  This  was  done  in  season,  on 
account  of  our  ignorance  of  all  the  soundings,  and  we  had 
soon  got  the  John's  head  off-shore  again.  Drawing  a  shor 
distance  ahead,  the  main-top-sail  was  thrown  aback,  and  the 
ship  allowed  to  drift.  In  proper  time,  it  was  filled,  and  we 
got  round  once  more,  looking  into  the  bight.  The  manoeuvre 
was  repeated,  and  this  brought  us  up  fairly  under  the  lee  of 
the  reef,  and  just  in  the  position  we  desired  to  be.  It  was  a 
nervous  instant,  I  make  no  doubt,  when  Captain  Robbins 
determined  to  trust  the  ship  in  the  true  current,  and  run  the 
gauntlet  of  the  rocks.  The  passage  across  which  we  had 
7 


74  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

to  steer,  before  we  could  possibly  weather  the  nearest  reef 
was  about  a  cable's  length  in  width,  and  the  wind  would 
barely  let  us  lay  high  enough  to  take  it  at  right-angles.  Then 
the  air  was  so  light,  that  I  almost  despaired  of  our  doing 
anything. 

Captain  Robbins  put  the  ship  into  the  current  with  great 
judgment.  She  was  kept  a  rap-full  until  near  the  edge  of 
the  eddy,  and  then  her  helm  was  put  nearly  down,  all  at 
once.  But  for  the  current's  acting,  in  one  direction,  on  her 
starboard  bow,  and  the  eddy's  pressing,  in  the  other,  on  the 
larboard  quarter,  the  vessel  would  have  been  taken  aback ; 
but  these  counteracting  forces  brought  her  handsomely  on 
her  course  again,  and  that  in  a  way  to  prevent  her  falling 
an  inch  to  leeward. 

Now  came  the  trial.  The  ship  was  kept  a  rap-full,  and 
she  went  steadily  across  the  passage,  favoured,  perhaps,  by 
a  little  more  breeze  than  had  blown  most  of  the  morning. 
Still,  our  leeward  set  was  fearful,  and,  as  we  approached  the 
reef,  I  gave  all  up.  Marble  screwed  his  lips  together,  and 
his  eyes  never  turned  from  the  weather-leeches  of  the  sails. 
Everybody  appeared  to  me  to  be  holding  his  breath,  as  the 
ship  rose  on  the  long  ground-swells,  sending  slowly  ahead 
the  whole  time.  We  passed  the  nearest  point  of  the  rocks 
on  one  of  the  rounded  risings  of  the  water,  just  touching 
lightly  as  we  glided  by  the  visible  danger.  The  blow  was 
light,  and  gave  little  cause  for  alarm.  Captain  Robbins  now 
caught  Mr.  Marble  by  the  hand,  and  was  in  the  very  act  of 
heartily  shaking  it,  when  the  ship  came  down  very  much  in 
the  manner  that  a  man  unexpectedly  lights  on  a  stone,  when 
he  has  no  idea  of  having  anything  within  two  or  three  yards 
of  his  feet.  The  blow  was  tremendous,  throwing  half  the 
crew  down ;  at  the  same  instant,  all  three  of  the  topmasts 
went  to  leeward. 

One  has  some  difficulty  in  giving  a  reader  accurate  no 
tions  of  the  confusion  of  so  awful  a  scene.  The  motion  of 
the  vessel  was  arrested  suddenly,  as  it  might  be  by  a  wall, 
and  the  whole  fabric  seemed  to  be  shaken  to  dissolution. 
The  very  next  roller  that  came  in,  which  would  have  undu 
lated  in  towards  the  land  but  for  us,  meeting  with  so  large  a 
body  in  its  way,  piled  up  and  broke  upon  our  decks,  cover, 
ing  everything  with  water.  At  the  same  time,  the  hull  lifted, 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  /5 

and,  aided  by  wind,  sea  and  current,  it  set  still  further  on 
the  reef,  thumping  in  a  way  to  break  strong  iron  bolts,  like 
so  many  sticks  of  sealing-wax,  and  cracking  the  solid  live- 
oak  of  the  floor-timbers  as  if  they  were  made  of  willow.  The 
captain  stood  aghast !  For  one  moment  despair  was  pain 
fully  depicted  in  his  countenance ;  then  he  recovered  his 
self-possession  and  seamanship.  He  gave  the  order  to  stand 
by  to  carry  out  to  windward  the  stream-anchor  in  the  launch, 
and  to  send  a  kedge  to  haul  out  by,  in  the  jolly-boat.  Mar 
ble  answered  with  the  usual  "  ay,  ay,  sir !"  but  before  he 
sent  us  into  the  boats,  he  ventured  to  suggest  that  the  ship 
had  bilged  already.  He  had  heard  timbers  crack,  about 
which  he  thought  there  could  be  no  mistake.  The  pumps 
were  sounded,  and  the  ship  had  seven  feet  water  in  her  hold. 
This  had  made  in  about  ten  minutes.  Still  the  captain 
would  not  give  up.  He  ordered  us  to  commence  throwing 
the  teas  overboard,  in  order  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  the  ex 
tent  of  the  injury.  A  place  was  broken  out  in  the  wake  of 
the  main-hatch,  and  a  passage  was  opened  down  into  the 
lower-hold,  where  we  met  the  water.  In  the  mean  time,  a 
South-Sea  man  we  had  picked  up  at  Canton,  dove  down 
under  the  lee  of  the  bilge  of  the  ship.  He  soon  came  back 
and  reported  that  a  piece  of  sharp  rock  had  gone  quite 
through  the  planks.  Everything  tending  to  corroborate  this, 
the  captain  called  a  council  of  all  hands  on  the  quarter-deck, 
to  consult  as  to  further  measures. 

A  merchantman  has  no  claim  on  the  services  of  her  crew 
after  she  is  hopelessly  wrecked.  The  last  have  a  lien  in 
law,  on  the  ship  and  cargo,  for  their  wages  ;  and  it  is  justly 
determined  that  when  this  security  fails,  the  claim  for  ser 
vices  ends.  It  followed,  of  course,  that  as  soon  as  the  John 
was  given  over,  we  were  all  our  own  masters ;  and  hence 
the  necessity  for  bringing  even  Neb  into  the  consultation. 
With  a  vessel  of  war  it  would  have  been  different.  In  such 
a  case,  the  United  States  pays  for  the  service,  ship  or  no 
ship,  wreck  or  no  wreck ;  and  the  seaman  serves  out  his 
term  of  enlistment,  be  this  longer  or  shorter.  Military  dis 
cipline  continues  under  all  circumstances. 

Captain  Robbins  could  hardly  speak  when  we  gathered 
round  him  on  the  forecastle,  the  seas  breaking  over  the 
quarter-deck  in  a  way  to  render  that  sanctuary  a  very  un- 


76  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

comfortable  berth.  As  soon  as  he  could  command  himself, 
he  told  us  that  the  ship  was  hopelessly  lost.  How  it  had 
happened,  he  could  not  very  well  explain  himself,  though  he 
ascribed  it  to  the  fact  that  the  currents  did  not  run  in  the 
direction  in  which,  according  to  all  sound  reasoning,  they 
ought  to  run.  This  part  of  the  speech  was  not  perfectly 
lucid,  though,  as  I  understood  our  unfortunate  captain,  the 
laws  of  nature,  owing  to  some  inexplicable  influence,  had 
departed,  in  some  way  or  other,  from  their  ordinary  work 
ings,  expressly  to  wreck  the  John.  If  this  were  not  the 
meaning  of  what  he  said,  I  did  not  understand  this  part  of 
the  address. 

The  captain  was  much  more  explicit  after  he  got  out  of 
the  current.  He  told  us  that  the  island  of  Bourbon  was  only 
about  four  hundred  miles  from  where  we  then  were,  and  he 
thought  it  possible  to  go  that  distance,  find  some  small  craft, 
and  come  back,  and  still  save  part  of  the  cargo,  the  sails, 
anchors,  &c.  &c.  We  might  make  such  a  trip  of  it  as 
would  give  us  all  a  lift,  in  the  way  of  salvage,  that  might 
prove  some  compensation  for  our  other  losses.  This  sounded 
well,  and  it  had  at  least  the  effect  to  give  us  some  present 
object  for  our  exertions ;  it  also  made  the  danger  we  all  ran 
of  losing  our  lives,  less  apparent.  To  land  on  the  island  of 
Madagascar,  in  that  day,  was  out  of  the  question.  Tho 
people  were  then  believed  to  be  far  less  civilized  than  in 
truth  they  were,  and  had  a  particularly  bad  character  among 
mariners.  Nothing  remained,  therefore,  but  to  rig  the  boats, 
and  make  immediate  dispositions  for  our  departure. 

Now  it  was  that  we  found  the  advantage  of  the  prepara 
tions  already  made.  Little  remained  to  be  done,  and  that 
which  was  done,  was  much  better  done  than  if  we  had  waited 
until  the  wreck  was  half  full  of  water,  and  the  seas  were 
combing  in  upon  her.  The  captain  took  charge  of  the  launch, 
putting  Mr.  Marble,  Rupert,  Neb,  myself  and  the  cook,  into 
the  jolly-boat,  with  orders  to  keep  as  close  as  possible  to 
himself.  Both  boats  had  sails,  and  both  were  so  arranged 
as  to  row  in  calms,  or  head-winds.  We  took  in  rather  more 
than  our  share  of  provisions  and  water,  having  two  skilful 
caterers  in  the  chief-mate  and  cook  ;  and,  having  obtained  a 
compass,  quadrant,  and  a  chart,  for  our  portion  of  the  mdis- 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  77 

pensables,  all  hands  were  ready  for  a  start,  in  about  two 
hours  after  the  ship  had  struck. 

It  was  just  noon  when  we  cast  off  from  the  wreck,  and 
stood  directly  off  the  land.  According  to  our  calculations, 
the  wind  enabled  us  to  run,  with  a  clean  full,  on  our  true 
course.  As  the  boats  drew  out  into  the  ocean,  we  had 
abundant  opportunities  of  discovering  how  many  dangers  we 
had  escaped ;  and,  for  my  own  part,  I  felt  deeply  grateful, 
even  then,  as  I  was  going  out  upon  the  wide  Atlantic  in  a 
mere  shell  of  a  boat,  at  the  mercy  we  had  experienced.  No 
sooner  were  we  fairly  in  deep  water,  than  the  captain  and 
mate  had  a  dialogue  on  the  subject  of  the  currents  again. 
Notwithstanding  all  the  difficulties  his  old  theory  had  brought 
him  into,  the  former  remained  of  opinion  that  the  true  cur 
rent  set  to  windward,  and  that  we  should  so  find  it  as  soon 
as  we  got  a  little  into  the  offing ;  while  the  mate  was  frank 
enough  to  say  he  had  been  of  opinion,  all  along,  that  it  ran 
the  other  way.  The  latter  added  that  Bourbon  was  rather 
a  small  spot  to  steer  for,  and  it  might  be  better  to  get  into 
its  longitude,  and  then  find  it  by  meridian  observations,  than 
to  make  any  more  speculations  about  matters  of  which  we 
knew  nothing. 

The  captain  and  Mr.  Marble  saw  things  differently,  and 
we  kept  away  accordingly,  when  we  ought  to  have  luffed 
all  we  could.  Fortunately  the  weather  continued  moderate, 
or  our  little  boat  would  have  had  a  bad  time  of  it.  We  out 
sailed  the  launch  with  ease,  and  were  forced  to  reef  in  order 
not  to  part  company.  When  the  sun  set,  we  were  more 
than  twenty  miles  from  the  land,  seeing  no  more  of  the 
coast,  though  the  mountains  inland  were  still  looming  up 
grandly  in  the  distance.  I  confess,  when  night  shut  in  upon 
us,  and  I  found  myself  on  the  wide  ocean,  in  a  boat  much 
smaller  than  that  with  which  I  used  to  navigate  the  Hudson, 
running  every  minute  farther  and  farther  into  the  watery 
waste,  I  began  to  think  of  Clawbonny,  and  its  security,  and 
quiet  nights,  and  well-spread  board,  and  comfortable  beds, 
in  a  way  I  had  never  thought  of  either  before.  As  for  food, 
however,  we  were  not  stinted  ;  Mr.  Marble  setting  us  an 
example  of  using  our  teeth  on  the  half-boiied  pork,  that  did 
credit  to  his  philosophy.  To  do  this  man  justice,  he  seemed 
to  think  a  run  of  four  hundred  miles  in  a  jolly-boat  no  great 
7* 


78  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

matter,  but  took  everything  as  regularly  as  if  still  on  tho 
deck  of  the  John.  Each  of  us  got  as  good  a  nap  as  our 
cramped  situations  would  allow. 

The  wind  freshened  in  the  morning,  and  the  sea  began  to 
break.  This  made  it  necessary  to  keep  still  more  away,  to 
prevent  filling  at  times,  or  to  haul  close  up,  which  might 
have  done  equally  well.  But  the  captain  preferred  the  latter 
course,  on  account  of  the  current.  We  had  ticklish  work 
of  it,  in  the  jolly-boat,  more  than  once  that  day,  and  were 
compelled  to  carry  a  whole  sail  in  order  to  keep  up  with  the 
launch,  which  beat  us,  now  the  wind  had  increased.  Marble 
was  a  terrible  fellow  to  carry  on  everything,  ship  or  boat, 
and  we  kept  our  station  admirably,  the  two  boats  never  get 
ting  a  cable's  length  asunder,  and  running  most  of  the  time 
within  hail  of  each  other.  As  night  approached,  however, 
a  consultation  was  held  on  the  subject  of  keeping  in  com 
pany.  We  had  now  been  out  thirty  hours,  and  had  made 
near  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  by  our  calculation.  Luckily 
the  wind  had  got  to  be  nearly  west,  and  we  were  running 
ahead  famously,  though  it  was  as  much  as  we  could  do  to 
keep  the  jolly-boat  from  filling.  One  hand  was  kept  bailing 
most  of  the  time,  and  sometimes  all  four  of  us  were  busy. 
These  matters  were  talked  over,  and  the  captain  proposed 
abandoning  the  jolly-boat  altogether,  and  to  take  us  into  the 
launch,  though  there  was  not  much  vacant  space  to  receive 
us.  But  the  mate  resisted  this,  answering  that  he  thought 
he  could  take  care  of  our  boat  a  while  longer,  at  least. 
Accordingly,  the  old  arrangement  was  maintained,  the  party 
endeavouring  to  keep  as  near  together  as  possible. 

About  midnight  it  began  to  blow  in  squalls,  and  two  or 
three  times  we  found  it  necessary  to  take  in  our  sails,  out 
oars,  and  pull  the  boat  head  to  sea,  in  order  to  prevent  her 
swamping.  The  consequence  was,  that  we  lost  sight  of  the 
launch,  and,  though  we  always  kept  away  to  our  course  as 
soon  as  the  puffs  would  allow,  when  the  sun  rose  we  saw 
nothing  of  our  late  companions.  I  have  sometimes  thought 
Mr.  Marble  parted  company  on  purpose,  though  he  seemed 
much  concerned  next  morning  when  he  had  ascertained  the 
launch  was  nowhere  to  be  seen.  After  looking  about  for  an 
hour,  and  the  wind  moderating,  we  made  sail  close  on  the 
wind  ;  a  direction  that  would  soon  have  taken  us  away  from 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  79 

the  launch,  had  the  latter  been  close  alongside  when  we  first 
took  it.  We  made  good  progress  all  this  day,  and  at  even 
ing,  having  now  been  out  fifty-four  hours,  we  supposed  our 
selves  to  be  rather  more  than  half-way  on  the  road  to  our 
haven.  It  fell  calm  in  the  night,  and  the  next  morning  we 
got  the  wind  right  aft.  This  gave  us  a  famous  shove,  for 
we  sometimes  made  six  and  seven  knots  in  the  hour.  The 
fair  wind  lasted  thirty  hours,  during  which  time  we  must 
have  made  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  it  falling 
nearly  calm  about  an  hour  before  dawn,  on  the  morning  of 
the  fourth  day  out.  Everybody  was  anxious  to  see  the 
horizon  that  morning,  and  every  eye  was  turned  to  the  east, 
with  intense  expectation,  as  the  sun  rose.  It  was  in  vain  ; 
there  was  not  the  least  sign  of  land  visible.  Marble  looked 
sadly  disappointed,  but  he  endeavoured  to  cheer  us  up  with 
the  hope  of  seeing  the  island  shortly.  We  were  then  heading 
due  east,  with  a  very  light  breeze  from  the  north-west.  I 
happened  to  stand  up  in  the  boat,  on  a  thwart,  and,  turning 
my  face  to  the  southward,  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  something 
that  seemed  like  a  hummock  of  land  in  that  quarter.  I  saw 
it  but  for  an  instant ;  but,  whatever  it  was,  I  saw  it  plain 
enough.  Mr.  Marble  now  got  on  the  thwart,  and  looked  in 
vain  to  catch  the  same  object.  He  said  there  was  no  land 
in  that  quarter — could  be  none — and  resumed  his  seat  to 
steer  to  the  eastward,  a  little  north.  I  could  not  be  easy, 
however,  but  remained  on  the  thwart  until  the  boat  lifted  on 
a  swell  higher  than  common,  and  then  I  saw  the  brown, 
hazy-looking  spot  on  the  margin  of  the  ocean  again.  My 
protestations  now  became  so  earnest,  that  Marble  consented  to 
stand  for  an  hour  in  the  direction  I  pointed  out  to  him.  "  One 
hour,  boy,  I  will  grant  you,  to  shut  your  mouth,"  the  mate  said, 
taking  out  his  watch, "  and  that  you  need  lay  nothing  to  my 
door  hereafter."  To  make  the  most  of  this  hour,  I  got  my  com 
panions  at  the  oars,  and  we  all  pulled  with  hearty  good-will. 
So  much  importance  did  I  attach  to  every  fathom  of  distance 
made,  that  we  did  not  rise  from  our  seats  until  the  mate  told 
us  to  stop  rowing,  for  the  hour  was  up.  As  for  himself,  he 
had  not  risen  either,  but  kept  looking  behind  him  to  the 
eastward,  still  hoping  to  see  land  somewhere  in  that  quarter. 
My  heart  beat  violently  as  I  got  upon  the  thwart,  but  there 
'/ty  my  hazy  object,  now  never  dipping  at  all.  I  shouted 


80  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

"  land  ho !"  Marble  jumped  up  on  a  thwart,  too,  and  IK? 
longer  disputed  my  word.  It  was  land,  he  admitted,  and  it 
must  be  the  island  of  Bourbon,  which  we  had  passed  to  the 
northward,  and  must  soon  have  given  a  hopelessly  wide 
berth.  We  went  to  the  oars  again  with  renewed  life,  and 
soon  made  the  boat  spin.  All  that  day  we  kept  rowing, 
until  about  five  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  found  ourselves 
within  a  few  leagues  of  the  island  of  Bourbon,  where  we 
were  met  by  a  fresh  breeze  from  the  southward,  and  were 
compelled  to  make  sail.  The  wind  was  dead  on  end,  and 
we  made  stretches  under  the  lee  of  the  island,  going  about 
as  we  found  the  sea  getting  to  be  too  heavy  for  us,  as  was 
invariably  the  case  whenever  we  got  too  far  east  or  west. 
In  a  word,  a  lee  was  fast  becoming  necessary.  By  ten,  we 
were  within  a  mile  of  the  shore,  but  saw  no  place  where  we 
thought  it  safe  to  attempt  a  landing  in  the  dark ;  a  lonsj, 
heavy  sea  setting  in  round  both  sides  of  the  island,  though 
the  water  did  not  break  much  where  we  remained.  At 
length  the  wind  got  to  be  so  heavy,  that  we  could  not  carry 
even  our  sail  double-reefed,  and  we  kept  two  oars  pulling 
lightly  in,  relieving  each  other  every  hour.  By  daylight  it 
blew  tremendously,  and  glad  enough  were  we  to  find  a  little 
cove  where  it  was  possible  to  get  ashore.  I  had  then  neveir 
felt  so  grateful  to  Providence  as  I  did  when  I  got  my  feet  on 
terra  Jirma. 

We  remained  on  the  island  a  week,  hoping  to  see  the 
launch  and  her  crew ;  but  neither  appeared.  Then  we  got 
a  passage  to  the  Isle  of  France,  on  arriving  at  which  place 
we  found  the  late  gale  was  considered  to  have  been  very 
serious.  There  was  no  American  consul  in  the  island,  at 
that  time ;  and  Mr.  Marble,  totally  without  credit  or  means, 
found  it  impossible  to  obtain  a  craft  of  any  sort  to  go  to  the 
wreck  in.  We  were  without  money,  too,  and,  a  homeward- 
bound  Calcutta  vessel  coming  in,  we  joined  her  to  work  our 
passages  hone,  Mr.  Marble  as  dickey,  and  the  rest  of  us  in- 
the  forecastle,  This  vessel  was  called  the  Tigris,  and  be- 
longed  to  Philadelphia.  She  was  considered  one  of  the  best 
ships  out  of  America,  and  her  master  had  a  high  reputation 
for  seamanship  and  activity.  He  was  a  little  man  of  the 
name  of  Digges,  and  was  under  thirty  at  the  time  I  first 
knew  him.  He  took  us  on  board  purely  out  of  a  national 


.       AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  81 

feeling,  for  his  ship  was  strong-handed  without  us,  having 
thirty-two  souls,  all  told,  when  he  received  us  five.  We 
afterwards  learned  that  letters  sent  after  the  ship  had  induced 
Captain  Digges  to  get  five  additional  hands  in  Calcutta,  in 
order  to  be  able  to  meet  the  picaroons  that  were  then  begin 
ning  to  plunder  American  vessels,  even  on  their  own  coast, 
under  the  pretence  of  their  having  violated  certain  regula 
tions  made  by  the  two  great  belligerents  of  the  day,  in 
Europe.  This  was  just  the  commencement  of  the  quasi  war 
which  broke  out  a  few  weeks  later  with  France. 

Of  all  these  hostile  symptoms,  however,  I  then  knew  little 
and  cared  less.  Even  Mr.  Marble  had  never  heard  of  them, 
and  we  five  joined  the  Tigris  merely  to  get  passages  home, 
without  entertaining  second  thoughts  of  running  any  risk, 
further  than  the  ordinary  dangers  of  the  seas. 

The  Tigris  sailed  the  day  we  joined  her,  which  was  the 
third  after  we  reached  Mauritius,  and  just  fifteen  days  after 
we  had  left  the  wreck.  We  went  to  sea  with  the  wind  at 
the  southward,  and  had  a  good  run  off  the  island,  making 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  that  afternoon  and  in  the  course 
of  the  night.  Next  morning,  early,  I  had  the  watch,  and  an 
order  was  given  to  set  top-gallant  studding-sails.  Rupert 
and  I  had  got  into  the  same  watch  on  board  this  vessel,  and 
we  both  went  aloft  to  reeve  the  gear.  I  had  taken  up  the 
end  of  the  halyards,  and  had  reeved  them,  and  had  over 
hauled  the  end  down,  when,  in  raising  my  head,  I  saw  two 
small  lug-sails  on  the  ocean,  broad  on  our  weather-bow, 
which  I  recognised  in  an  instant  for  those  of  the  John's  launch. 
I  cannot  express  the  feeling  that  came  over  me  at  that  sight. 
I  yelled,  rather  than  shouted,  "  Sail  ho !"  and  then,  pushing 
in,  I  caught  hold  of  a  royal-backstay,  and  was  on  deck  in 
an  instant.  I  believe  I  made  frantic  gestures  to  windward, 
for  Mr.  Marble,  who  had  the  watch,  had  to  shake  me  sharply 
before  I  could  let  the  fact  be  known. 

As  soon  as  Marble  comprehended  me,  and  got  the  bear 
ings  of  the  boat,  he  hauled  down  all  the  studding-sails, 
braced  sharp  up  on  a  wind,  set  the  mainsail,  and  then  sent 
down  a  report  to  Captain  Digges  for  orders.  Our  new  com 
mander  was  a  humane  man,  and  having  been  told  our  whole 
story,  he  did  not  hesitate  about  confirming  all  that  had  been 
done.  As  the  people  in  the  launch  had  made  out  the  ship 


82  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

some  time  before  I  saw  the  boat,  the  latter  was  running  down 
upon  us,  and,  in  about  an  hour,  the  tiny  sails  were  descried 
from  the  deck.  In  less  than  an  hour  after  this,  our  main- 
yard  swung  round,  throwing  the  topsail  aback,  and  the  well- 
known  launch  of  the  John  rounded-to  close  under  our  lee;  a 
rope  was  thrown,  and  the  boat  was  hauled  alongside. 

Everybody  in  the  Tigris  was  shocked  when  we  came  to 
get  a  look  at  the  condition  of  the  strangers.  One  man,  a 
powerful  negro,  lay  dead  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat ;  the  body 
having  been  kept  for  a  dreadful  alternative,  in  the  event  of 
his  companions  falling  in  with  no  other  relief.  Three  more 
of  the  men  were  nearly  gone,  and  had  to  be  whipped  on 
board  as  so  many  lifeless  bales  of  goods.  Captain  Robbins 
and  Kite,  both  athletic,  active  men,  resembled  spectres,  their 
eyes  standing  out  of  their  heads  as  if  thrust  from  their  sockets 
by  some  internal  foe ;  and  when  we  spoke  to  them,  they  all 
seemed  unable  to  answer.  It  was  not  fasting,  or  want  of 
food,  that  had  reduced  them  to  this  state,  so  much  as  want 
of  water.  It  is  true,  they  had  no  more  bread  left  than  would 
keep  body  and  soul  together  for  a  few  hours  longer ;  but  of 
water  they  had  tasted  not  a  drop  for  seventy  odd  hours !  It 
appeared  that,  during  the  gale,  they  had  been  compelled  to 
empty  the  breakers  to  lighten  the  boat,  reserving  only  one 
for  their  immediate  wants.  By  some  mistake,  the  one  re 
served  was  nearly  half-empty  at  the  time;  and  Captain 
Robbins  believed  himself  then  so  near  Bourbon,  as  not  to  go 
on  an  allowance  until  it  was  too  late.  In  this  condition  had 
they  been  searching  for  the  island  quite  ten  days,  passing  it, 
but  never  hitting  it.  The  winds  had  not  favoured  them, 
and,  the  last  few  days,  the  weather  had  been  such  as  to  ad 
mit  of  no  observation.  Consequently,  they  had  been  as  much 
out  of  their  reckoning  in  their  latitude,  as  in  their  longitude. 
A  gleam"  of  intelligence,  and  I  thought  of  pleasure,  shot 
athwart  the  countenance  of  Captain  Robbins,  as  I  helped  him 
over  the  Tigris's  side.  He  saw  I  was  safe.  He  tottered  as 
he  walked,  and  leaned  heavily  on  me  for  support.  I  was 
about  to  lead  him  aft,  but  his  eye  caught  sight  of  a  scuttle 
butt,  and  the  tin-pot  on  its  head.  Thither  he  went,  and 
stretched  out  a  trembling  hand  to  the  vessel.  I  gave  him 
the  pot  as  it  was,  with  about  a  wine-glass  of  water  in  it. 
This  he  swallowed  at  a  gulp,  and  then  tottered  forward  for 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  83 

more.  By  this  time  Captain  Digges  joined  us,  and  gave  the 
proper  directions  how  to  proceed.  All  the  sufferers  had 
water  in  small  quantities  given  them,  and  it  is  wonderful 
with  what  expressions  of  delight  they  received  the  grateful 
beverage.  As  soon  as  they  understood  the  necessity  of 
keeping  it  as  long  as  possible  in  their  mouths,  and  on  their 
tongues,  before  swallowing  it,  a  little  did  them  a  great  deal 
of  good.  After  this,  we  gave  them  some  coffee,  the  break 
fast  being  ready,  and  then  a  little  ship's  biscuit  soaked  in 
wine.  By  such  means  every  man  was  saved,  though  it  was 
near  a  month  before  all  were  themselves  again.  As  for 
Captain  Robbins  and  Kite,  they  were  enabled  to  attend  to 
duty  by  the  end  of  a  week,  though  nothing  more  was  exacted 
of  them  than  they  chose  to  perform. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

"  The  yesty  waves 
Confound  and  swallow  navigation  up." 

Macbeth. 

POOR  Captain  Robbins !  No  sooner  did  he  regain  his 
bodily  strength,  than  he  began  to  endure  the  pain  of  mind 
that  was  inseparable  from  the  loss  of  his  ship.  Marble,  who, 
now  that  he  had  fallen  to  the  humbler  condition  of  a  second- 
mate,  was  more  than  usually  disposed  to  be  communicative 
with  me,  gave  me  to  understand  that  our  old  superior  had  at 
first  sounded  Captain  Digges  on  the  subject  of  proceeding  to 
the  wreck,  in  order  to  ascertain  what  could  be  saved  ;  but 
the  latter  had  soon  convinced  him  that  a  first-rate  Philadel 
phia  Indiaman  had  something  else  to  do  besides  turning 
wrecker.  After  a  pretty  broad  hint  to  this  effect,  the  John, 
and  all  that  was  in  her,  were  abandoned  to  their  fate.  Mar- 
ble,  however,  was  of  opinion  that  the  gale  in  which  the 
launch  came  so  near  being  lost,  must  have  broken  the  ship 
entirely  to  pieces,  giving  her  fragments  to  the  ocean.  We 
never  heard  of  her  fate,  or  recovered  a  single  article  that 
belonged  to  her. 


84  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

Many  were  the  discussions  between  Captain  Robbins  andf 
his  two  mates,  touching  the  error  in  reckoning  that  had  led 
them  so  far  from  their  course.  In  that  day,  navigation  was 
by  no  means  as  simple  a  thing  as  it  has  since  become.  It  is 
true,  lunars  were  usually  attempted  in  India  and  China 
ships ;  but  this  was  not  an  every-day  affair,  like  the  present 
morning  and  afternoon  observations  to  obtain  the  time,  and, 
by  means  of  the  chronometer,  the  longitude.  Then  we  had 
so  recently  got  clear  of  the  islands,  as  to  have  no  great  need 
of  any  extraordinary  head-work ;  and  the  "  bloody  currents" 
had  acted  their  pleasure  with  us  for  eight  or  ten  days  before 
the  loss  of  the  ship.  Marble  was  a  very  good  navigator, 
one  of  the  best  I  ever  sailed  with,  in  spite  of  the  plainness 
of  his  exterior,  and  his  rough  deportment ;  and,  all  things 
considered,  he  treated  his  old  commander  with  great  deli 
cacy,  promising  to  do  all  he  could,  when  he  got  home,  to 
clear  the  matter  up.  As  for  Kite,  he  knew  but  little,  and 
had  the  discretion  to  say  but  little.  This  moderation  ren 
dered  our  passage  all  the  more  agreeable. 

The  Tigris  was  a  very  fast  ship,  besides  being  well-found. 
She  was  a  little  larger  than  the  John,  and  mounted  twelve 
guns,  nine-pounders.  In  consequence  of  the  additions  made 
to  her  crew,  one  way  and  another,  she  now  mustered  nearer 
fifty  than  forty  souls  on  board.  Captain  Digges  had  certain 
martial  tastes,  and,  long  before  we  were  up  with  the  Cape, 
he  had  us  all  quartered  and  exercised  at  the  guns.  He,  too, 
had  had  an  affair  with  some  proas,  and  he  loved  to  converse 
of  the  threshing  he  had  given  the  rascals.  I  thought  he 
envied  us  our  exploit,  though  this  might  have  been  mere 
imagination  on  my  part,  for  he  was  liberal  enough  in  his 
commendations.  The  private  intelligence  he  had  received 
of  the  relations  between  France  and  America,  quickened  his 
natural  impulses ;  and,  by  the  time  we  reached  St.  Helena, 
the  ship  might  have  been  said  to  be  in  good  fighting  order 
for  a  merchantman.  We  touched  at  this  last-mentioned 
island  for  supplies,  but  obtained  no  news  of  any  interest. 
Those  who  supplied  the  ship  could  tell  us  nothing  but  the 
names  of  the  Indiamen  who  had  gone  out  and  home  for  the 
last  twelvemonth,  and  the  prices  of  fresh  meat  and  vegeta 
bles.  Napoleon  civilized  them,  seventeen  years  later. 

We  had  a  good  run  from  St.  Helena  to  the  calm  latitudes, 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  85 

but  these  last  proved  calmer  than  common.  We  worried 
through  them  after  a  while,  however,  and  then  did  very  well 
until  we  got  in  the  latitude  of  the  Windward  Islands.  Mar 
ble  one  day  remarked  to  me  that  Captain  Digges  was  stand 
ing  closer  to  the  French  island  of  Guadaloupe  than  was  at 
all  necessary  or  prudent,  if  he  believed  in  his  own  reports 
of  the  danger  there  existed  to  American  commerce,  in  this 
quarter  of  the  ocean. 

I  have  lived  long  enough,  and  have  seen  too  much  of  men 
and  things,  to  fancy  my  country  and  countrymen  right,  in 
all  their  transactions,  merely  because  newspapers,  members 
of  congress,  and  fourth  of  July  orators,  are  pleased  to  affirm 
the  doctrine.  No  one  can  go  much  to  sea  without  reading 
with  great  distrust  many  of  the  accounts,  in  the  journals  of 
the  day,  of  the  grievous  wrongs  done  the  commerce  of 
America  by  the  authorities  of  this  or  that  port,  the  seizure 
of  such  a  ship,  or  the  imprisonment  of  some  particular  set 
of  officers  and  men.  As  a  rule,  it  is  safer  to  assume  that 
the  afflicted  parties  deserve  all  that  has  happened  to  them, 
than  to  believe  them  immaculate ;  and,  quite  likely,  much 
more,  too.  The  habit  of  receiving  such  appeals  to  their 
sympathies,  renders  the  good  people  of  the  republic  pecu 
liarly  liable  to  impositions  of  this  nature ;  and  the  mother 
who  encourages  those  of  her  children  who  fetch  and  carry, 
will  be  certain  to  have  her  ears  filled  with  complaints  and 
tattle.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  fact  beyond  all  dispute,  that  the 
commerce  of  the  country  was  terribly  depredated  on  by 
nearly  all  the  European  belligerents,  between  the  commence 
ment  of  the  war  of  the  French  revolution  and  its  close.  So 
enormous  were  the  robberies  thus  committed  on  the  widely 
extended  trade  of  this  nation,  under  one  pretence  or  another, 
as  to  give  a  colouring  of  retributive  justice,  if  not  of  moral 
right,  to  the  recent  failures  of  certain  States  among  us  to 
pay  their  debts.  Providence  singularly  avenges  all  wrongs 
by  its  unerring  course ;  and  I  doubt  not,  if  the  facts  could 
be  sifted  to  the  bottom,  it  would  be  found  the  devil  was  not 
permitted  to  do  his  work,  in  either  case,  without  using  ma 
terials  supplied  by  the  sufferers,  in  some  direct  or  indirect 
manner,  themselves.  Of  all  the  depredations  on  American 
trade  just  mentioned,  those  of  the  great  sister  republic,  at  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  were  among  the  most  grievous,  and 
8 


00  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

were  of  a  character  so  atrocious  and  bold,  that  I  confess  it 
militates  somewhat  against  my  theory  to  admit  that  France 
owns  very  little  of  the  "  suspended  debt ;"  but  I  account  for 
this  last  circumstance  by  the  reparation  she  in  part  made,  by 
the  treaty  of  1831.  With  England  it  is  different.  She 
drove  us  into  a  war  by  the  effects  of  her  orders  in  council 
and  paper  blockades,  and  compelled  us  to  expend  a  hundred 
millions  to  set  matters  right.  I  should  like  to  see  the  books 
balanced,  not  by  the  devil,  who  equally  instigated  the  rob 
beries  on  the  high  seas,  and  the  "  suspension"  or  «'  repudia 
tion"  of  the  State  debts ;  but  by  the  great  Accountant  who 
keeps  a  record  of  all  our  deeds  of  this  nature,  whether  it  be 
to  make  money  by  means  of  cruising  ships,  or  cruising  scrip. 
It  is  true,  these  rovers  encountered  very  differently-looking 
victims,  in  the  first  place ;  but  it  is  a  somewhat  trite  remark, 
that  the  aggregate  of  human  beings  is  pretty  much  the  same 
in  all  situations.  There  were  widows  and  orphans  as  much 
connected  with  the  condemnation  of  prizes,  as  with  the  prices 
of  condemned  stock ;  and  I  do  not  see  that  fraud  is  any 
worse  when  carried  on  by  scriveners  and  clerks  with  quills 
behind  their  ears,  than  when  carried  on  by  gentlemen  wear 
ing  cocked  hats,  and  carrying  swords  by  their  sides.  On 
the  whole,  I  am  far  from  certain  that  the  account-current  of 
honesty  is  not  slightly — honesty  very  slightly  leavens  either 
transaction — in  favour  of  the  non-paying  States,  as  men  do 
sometimes  borrow  with  good  intentions,  and  fail,  from  inabi 
lity,  to  pay  ;  whereas,  in  the  whole  course  of  my  experience, 

1  never  knew  a  captor  of  a  ship  who  intended  to  give  back 
any  of  the  prize-money,  if  he  could  help  it.     But,  to  return 
to  my  adventures. 

We  were  exactly  in  the  latitude  of  Guadaloupe,  with  the 
usual  breeze,  when,  at  daylight,  a  rakish-looking  brig  was 
seen  in  chase.  Captain  Digges  took  a  long  survey  of  the 
stranger  with  his  best  glass,  one  that  was  never  exhibited 
but  on  state  occasions,  and  then  he  pronounced  him  to  be  a 
French  cruiser ;  most  probably  a  privateer.  That  he  was 
a  Frenchman,  Marble  affirmed,  was  apparent  by  the  height 
of  his  top-masts,  and  the  shortness  of  his  yards ;  the  upper 
spars,  in  particular,  being  mere  apologies  for  yards.  Every 
body  who  had  any  right  to  an  opinion,  was  satisfied  the  brig 
was  a  French  cruiser,  either  public  or  private. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  87 

The  Tigris  was  a  fast  ship,  and  she  was  under  top-mast 
and  top-gallant  studding-sails  at  the  time,  going  about  seven 
knots.  The  brig  was  on  an  easy  bowline,  evidently  looking 
up  for  our  wake,  edging  off  gradually  as  we  drew  ahead. 
She  went  about  nine  knots,  and  bade  fair  to  close  with  us 
by  noon.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  doubt,  aft,  as  to  the 
course  we  ought  to  pursue.  It  was  decided  in  the  end,  how 
ever,  to  shorten  sail  and  let  the  brig  come  up,  as  being  less 
subject  to  cavils,  than  to  seem  to  avoid  her.  Captain  Digges 
got  out  his  last  letters  from  home,  and  I  saw  him  showing 
them  to  Captain  Robbins,  the  two  conning  them  over  with 
great  earnestness.  I  was  sent  to  do  some  duty  near  the 
hencoops,  where  they  were  sitting,  and  overheard  a  part 
of  their  conversation.  From  the  discourse,  I  gathered  that 
the  proceedings  of  these  picaroons  were  often  equivocal,  and 
that  Americans  were  generally  left  in  doubt,  until  a  favour 
able  moment  occurred  for  the  semi-pirates  to  effect  their 
purposes.  The  party  assailed  did  not  know  when  or  how 
to  defend  himself,  until  it  was  too  late. 

"  These  chaps  come  aboard  you,  sometimes,  before  you're 
aware  of  what  they  are  about,"  observed  Captain  Robbins. 

"  I  '11  not  be  taken  by  surprise  in  that  fashion,"  returned 
Digges,  after  a  moment  of  reflection.  "  Here,  you  Miles, 
go  forward  and  tell  the  cook  to  fill  his  coppers  with  water, 
and  to  set  it  boiling  as  fast  as  he  can ;  and  tell  Mr.  Marble 
I  want  him  aft.  Bear  a  hand,  now,  youngster,  and  give 
them  a  lift  yourself." 

Of  course  I  obeyed,  wondering  what  the  captain  wanted  with 
so  much  hot  water  as  to  let  the  people  eat  their  dinners  off 
cold  grub,  rather  than  dispense  with  it ;  for  this  was  a  con 
sequence  of  his  decree.  But  we  had  not  got  the  coppers 
half-filled,  before  I  saw  Mr.  Marble  and  Neb  lowering  a 
small  ship's  engine  from  the  launch,  and  placing  it  near  the 
galley,  in  readiness  to  be  filled.  The  mate  told  Neb  to 
screw  on  the  pipe,  and  then  half  a  dozen  of  the  men,  as  soon 
as  we  got  through  with  the  coppers,  were  told  to  fill  the 
engine  with  sea-water.  Captain  Digges  now  came  forward 
to  superintend  the  exercise,  and  Neb  jumped  on  the  engine, 
flourishing  the  pipe  about  with  the  delight  of  a  •'  nigger." 
The  captain  was  diverted  with  the  black's  zeal,  and  he 
appointed  him  captain  of  the  firemen  on  the  spot. 


88  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

"  Now,  let  us  see  what  you  can  do  at  that  forward  dead- 
eye,  darky,"  said  Captain  Digges,  laughing.  "  Take  it 
directly  on  the  strap.  Play  away,  boys,  and  let  Neb  try 
his  hand." 

It  happened  that  Neb  hit  the  dead-eye  at  the  first  jet,  and 
he  showed  great  readiness  in  turning  the  stream  from  point 
to  point,  as  ordered.  Neb's  conduct  on  the  night  of  the 
affair  with  the  proas  had  been  told  to  Captain  Digges,  who 
was  so  well  .pleased  with  the  fellow's  present  dexterity,  as  to 
confirm  him  in  office.  He  was  told  to  stick  by  the  engine 
at  every  hazard.  Soon  after,  an  order  was  given  to  clear 
for  action.  This  had  an  ominous  sound  to  my  young  ears, 
and,  though  I  have  no  reason  to  suppose  myself  deficient  in 
firmness,  I  confess  I  began  to  think  again  of  Clawbonny, 
and  Grace,  and  Lucy ;  ay,  and  even  of  the  mill.  This 
lasted  but  for  a  moment,  however,  and,  as  soon  as  I  got  at 
work,  the  feeling  gave  me  no  trouble.  We  were  an  hour 
getting  the  ship  ready,  and,  by  that  time,  the  brig  was  within 
half  a  mile,  luffing  fairly  up  on  our  lee-quarter.  As  we  had 
shortened  sail,  the  privateer  manifested  no  intention  of 
throwing  a  shot  to  make  us  heave-to.  She  seemed  disposed 
to  extend  courtesy  for  courtesy. 

The  next  order  was  for  all  hands  to  go  to  quarters.  I 
was  stationed  in  the  main-top,  and  Rupert  in  the  fore.  Our 
duties  were  to  do  light  work,  in  the  way  of  repairing  da 
mages  ;  and  the  captain,  understanding  that  we  were  both 
accustomed  to  fire-arms,  gave  us  a  musket  a-piece,  with 
orders  to  blaze  away  as  soon  as  they  began  the  work  below. 
As  we  had  both  stood  fire  once,  we  thought  ourselves  vete 
rans,  and  proceeded  to  our  stations,  smiling  and  nodding  to 
each  other  as  we  went  up  the  rigging.  Of  the  two,  my  sta 
tion  was  the  best,  since  I  could  see  the  approach  of  the  brig, 
the  rnizen-top-sail  offering  but  little  obstruction  to  vision 
after  she  got  near ;  whereas  the  main-top-sail  was  a  perfect 
curtain,  so  far  as  poor  Rupert  was  concerned.  In  the  way 
of  danger,  there  was  not  much  difference  as  to  any  of  tho 
stations  on  board,  the  bulwarks  of  the  ship  being  little  more 
than  plank  that  would  hardly  stop  a  musket-ball ;  and  then 
the  French  had  a  reputation  for  firing  into  the  rigging. 

As  soon  as  all  was  ready,  the  captain  sternly  ordered 
silence.  By  this  time  the  brig  was  near  enough  to  hail.  I 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  89 

could  see  her  decks  quite  plainly,  and  they  were  filled  with 
men.  I  counted  her  guns,  too,  and  ascertained  she  had  but 
ten,  all  of  which  seemed  to  be  lighter  than  our  own.  One 
circumstance  that  I  observed,  however,  was  suspicious. 
Her  forecastle  was  crowded  with  men,  who  appeared  to  be 
crouching  behind  the  bulwarks,  as  if  anxious  to  conceal  their 
presence  from  the  eyes  of  those  in  the  Tigris.  I  had  a  mind 
to  jump  on  a  back-stay  and  slip  down  on  deck,  to  let  this 
/hreatening  appearance  be  known ;  but  I  had  heard  some 
sayings  touching  the  imperative  duty  of  remaining  at  quar 
ters  in  face  of  the  enemy,  and  I  did  not  like  to  desert  my 
station.  Tyroes  have  always  exaggerated  notions  both  of 
their  rights  and  their  duties,  and  I  had  not  escaped  the 
weakness.  Still,  I  think  some  credit  is  due  for  the  alterna 
tive  adopted.  During  the  whole  voyage,  I  had  kept  a  reck 
oning,  and  paper  and  pencil  were  always  in  my  pocket,  in 
readiness  to  catch  a  moment  to  finish  a  day's  work.  I  wrote 
as  follows  on  a  piece  of  paper,  therefore,  as  fast  as  possible, 
and  dropped  the  billet  on  the  quarter-deck,  by  enclosing  a 
copper  in  the  scrawl,  cents  then  being  in  their  infancy.  I 
had  merely  written — «« The  brig's  forecastle  is  filled  with 
armed  men,  hid  behind  the  bulwarks !"  Captain  Digges 
heard  the  fall  of  the  copper,  and  looking  up — nothing  takes 
an  officer's  eyes  aloft  quicker  than  to  find  anything  coming 
out  of  a  top ! — he  saw  me  pointing  to  the  paper.  I  was 
rewarded  for  this  liberty  by  an  approving  nod.  Captain 
Digges  read  what  I  had  written,  and  I  soon  observed  Neb 
and  the  cook  filling  the  engine  with  boiling  water.  This 
job  was  no  sooner  done  than  a  good  place  was  selected  on 
the  quarter-deck  for  this  singular  implement  of  war,  and 
then  a  hail  came  from  the  brig. 

"  Vat  zat  sheep  is  ?"  demanded  some  one  from  the  brig. 

"  The  Tigris  of  Philadelphia,  from  Calcutta  home.    What 
brig  is  that  ?" 

"  La  Folie — corsair  Francois.    From  vair  you  come  ?" 

"  From  Calcutta.     And  where  are  you  from  T' 

"  Guadaloupe.     Vair  you  go,  eh  ?" 

"  Philadelphia.     Do  not  luff  so  near  me ;  some  accident 
may  happen." 

"  Vat  you  call  '  accident  T    Can  nevair  hear,  eh  ?    I  will 
come  tout  prts" 
8* 


90  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  Give  us  a  wider  berth,  I  tell  you  !  Here  is  your  jib- 
boom  nearly  foul  of  my  mizen-rigging." 

"  Vat  mean  zat,  bert'  vidair  1  eh  !  Allans,  mes  enfants , 
c'est  le  moment  /" 

"  Luff  a  little,  and  keep  his  spar  clear,"  cried  our  captain. 
"  Squirt  away,  Neb,  and  let  us  see  what  you  can  do  !" 

The  engine  made  a  movement,  just  as  the  French  began 
to  run  out  on  their  bowsprit,  and,  by  the  time  six  or  eight 
were  on  the  heel  of  the  jib-boom,  they  were  met  by  the 
hissing  hot  stream,  which  took  them  en  echelon,  as  it  might 
be,  fairly  raking  the  whole  line.  The  effect  was  instanta 
neous.  Physical  nature  cannot  stand  excessive  heat,  unless 
particularly  well  supplied  with  skin ;  and  the  three  leading 
Frenchmen,  finding  retreat  impossible,  dropped  incontinently 
into  the  sea,  preferring  cold  water  to  hot — the  chances  of 
drowning,  to  the  certainty  of  being  scalded.  I  believe  all 
three  were  saved  by  their  companions  in-board,  but  I  will 
not  vouch  for  the  fact.  The  remainder  of  the  intended 
boarders,  having  the  bowsprit  before  them,  scrambled  back 
upon  the  brig's  forecastle  as  well  as  they  could,  betraying, 
by  the  random  way  in  which  their  hands  flew  about,  that 
they  had  a  perfect  consciousness  how  much  they  left  their 
rear  exposed  on  the  retreat.  A  hearty  laugh  was  heard  in 
all  parts  of  the  Tigris,  and  the  brig,  putting  her  helm  hard 
up,  wore  round  like  a  top,  as  if  she  were  scalded  herself.* 

We  all  expected  a  broadside  now ;  but  of  that  there  was 
little  apprehension,  as  it  was  pretty  certain  we  carried  the 
heaviest  battery,  and  had  men  enough  to  work  it.  But  the 
brig  did  not  fire,  I  suppose  because  we  fell  off  a  little  our 
selves,  and  she  perceived  it  might  prove  a  losing  game.  On 
the  contrary,  she  went  quite  round  on  her  heel,  hauling  up 
on  the  other  tack  far  enough  to  bring  the  two  vessels  exactly 
dos  a  dos.  Captain  Digges  ordered  two  of  the  quarter 
deck  nines  to  be  run  out  of  the  stern-ports ;  and  it  was  well 
he  did,  for  it  was  not  in  nature  for  men  to  be  treated  as  our 
friends  in  the  brig  had  been  served,  without  manifesting 
certain  signs  of  ill-humour.  The  vessels  might  have  been 
three  cables'  lengths  asunder  when  we  got  a  gun.  The  first 
I  knew  of  the  shot  was  to  hear  it  plunge  through  the  mizen- 

*  This  incident  actually  occurred  in  the  war  of  1798 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  91 

top-sail,  then  it  came  whistling  through  my  top,  between  the 
weather-rigging  and  the  mast-head,  cutting  a  hole  through 
the  main-top-sail,  and,  proceeding  onward,  I  heard  it  strike 
something  more  solid  than  canvass.  I  thought  of  Rupert 
and  the  fore-top  in  an  instant,  and  looked  anxiously  down 
on  deck  to  ascertain  if  he  were  injured. 

"  Fore-top,  there !"  called  out  Captain  Digges.  "  Where 
did  that  shot  strike  ?" 

"  In  the  mast-head,"  answered  Rupert,  in  a  clear,  firm 
voice.  "  It  has  done  no  damage,  sir." 

"Now's  your  time,  Captain  Robbins — give  'em  a  re 
minder." 

Both  our  nines  were  fired,  and,  a  few  seconds  after,  three 
cheers  arose  from  the  decks  of  our  ship.  I  could  not  see 
the  brig,  now,  for  the  mizen-top-sail ;  but  I  afterwards 
learned  that  we  had  shot  away  her  gaff.  This  terminated 
the  combat,  in  which  the  glory  was  acquired  principally  by 
Neb.  They  told  me,  when  I  got  down  among  the  people 
again,  that  the  black's  face  had  been  dilated  with  delight  the 
whole  time,  though  he  stood  fairly  exposed  to  musketry,  his 
mouth  grinning  from  ear  to  ear.  Neb  was  justly  elated 
with  the  success  that  attended  this  exhibition  of  his  skill, 
and  described  the  retreat  of  our  enemies  with  a  humour  and 
relish  that  raised  many  a  laugh  at  the  discomfited  privateers- 
man.  It  is  certain  that  some  of  the  fellows  must  have  been 
nearly  parboiled. 

I  have  always  supposed  this  affair  between  la  Folie  and 
the  Tigris  to  have  been  the  actual  commencement  of  hos 
tilities  in  the  quasi  war  of  1798-9  and  1800.  Other  occur 
rences  soon  supplanted  it  in  the  public  mind  ;  but  we  of  the 
ship  never  ceased  to  regard  the  adventure  as  one  of  great 
national  interest.  It  did  prove  to  be  a  nine  days'  wonder  in 
the  newspapers. 

From  this  time,  nothing  worthy  of  being  noted  occurred, 
until  we  reached  the  coast.  We  had  got  as  high  as  the 
capes  of  Virginia,  and  were  running  in  for  the  land,  with  a 
fair  wind,  when  we  made  a  ship  in-shore  of  us.  The  stran 
ger  hauled  up  to  speak  us,  as  soon  as  we  were  seen.  There 
was  a  good  deal  of  discussion  about  this  vessel,  as  she  drew 
near,  between  Captain  Digges  and  his  chief-mate.  The 
atter  said  he  knew  the  vessel,  and  that  it  was  an  Indiaman 


92  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

out  of  Philadelphia,  called  the  Ganges,  a  sort  of  sister  craft 
to  our  own  ship  ;  while  the  former  maintained,  if  it  were  the 
Ganges  at  all,  she  was  so  altered  as  scarcely  to  be  recog 
nised.  As  we  got  near,  the  stranger  threw  a  shot  under  our 
fore-foot,  and  showed  an  American  pennant  and  ensign. 
Getting  a  better  look  at  her,  we  got  so  many  signs  of  a  ves- 
sel-of-war  in  our  neighbour,  as  to  think  it  wisest  to  heave-to, 
when  the  other  vessel  passed  under  our  stern,  tacked,  arid 
lay  with  her  head-yards  aback,  a  little  on  our  weather- 
quarter.  As  she  drew  to  windward,  we  saw  her  sterr, 
which  had  certain  national  emblems,  but  no  name  on  it 
This  settled  the  matter.  She  was  a  man-of-war,  and  she 
carried  the  American  flag !  Such  a  thing  did  not  exist  a 
few  months  before,  when  we  left  home,  and  Captain  Digges 
was  burning  with  impatience  to  know  more.  He  was  soon 
gratified. 

"  Is  not  that  the  Tigris  ?"  demanded  a  voice,  through  a 
trumpet,  from  the  stranger. 

"  Ay,  ay  !     What  ship  is  that  ?" 

"  The  United  States'  Ship  Ganges,  Captain  Dale ;  from 
the  capes  of  the  Delaware,  bound  on  a  cruise.  You  're  wel 
come  home,  Captain  Digges ;  we  may  want  some  of  your 
assistance  under  a  cockade." 

Digges  gave  a  long  whistle,  and  then  the  mystery  was 
out.  This  proved  to  be  the  Ganges,  as  stated,  an  Indiaman 
bought  into  a  new  navy,  and  the  first  ship-of-war  ever  sent 
to  sea  under  the  government  of  the  country,  as  it  had  existed 
since  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  nine  years  before. 
The  privateers  of  France  had  driven  the  republic  into  an 
armament,  and  ships  were  fitting  out  in  considerable  num 
bers  ;  some  being  purchased,  like  the  Ganges,  and  others 
built  expressly  for  the  new  marine.  Captain  Digges  went 
on  board  the  Ganges,  and,  pulling  an  oar  in  his  boat,  I  had 
a  chance  of  seeing  that  vessel  also.  Captain  Dale,  a  com 
pact,  strongly-built,  seaman-like  looking  man,  in  a  blue  and 
white  uniform,  received  our  skipper  with  a  cordial  shake  of 
the  hand,  for  they  had  once  sailed  together,  and  he  laughed 
heartily  when  he  heard  the  story  of  the  boarding-party  and 
the  hot  water.  This  respectable  officer  hnd  no  braggadocia 
about  him,  but  he  intimated  that  it  would  not  be  long,  as  he 
thought,  before  the  rovers  among  the  islands  would  have 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  93 

»heir  hands  full.  Congress  was  in  earnest,  and  the  whole 
country  was  fairly  aroused.  Whenever  that  happens  in 
America,  it  is  usually  to  take  a  new  and  better  direction 
than  to  follow  the  ordinary  blind  impulses  of  popular  feel 
ings.  In  countries  where  the  masses  count  for  nothing,  in 
the  every-day  working  of  their  systems,  excitement  has  a 
tendency  to  democracy ;  but,  among  ourselves,  I  think  the 
effect  of  such  a  condition  of  things  is  to  bring  into  action  men 
and  qualities  that  are  commonly  of  little  account,  and  to 
elevate,  instead  of  depressing,  public  sentiment. 

I  was  extremely  pleased  with  the  manly,  benevolent  coun 
tenance  of  Captain  Dale,  and  had  half  a  desire  to  ask  leave 
to  join  his  ship  on  the  spot.  If  that  impulse  had  been  fol 
lowed,  it  is  probable  my  future  life  would  have  been  very 
different  from  what  it  subsequently  proved.  I  should  have 
been  rated  a  midshipman,  of  course;  and,  serving  so  early, 
with  a  good  deal  of  experience  already  in  ships,  a  year  or 
two  would  have  made  me  a  lieutenant,  and,  could  I  have 
survived  the  pruning  of  1801,  I  should  now  have  been  one 
of  the  oldest  officers  in  the  service.  Providence  directed 
otherwise ;  and  how  much  was  lost,  or  how  much  gained, 
by  my  continuance  in  the  Tigris,  the  reader  will  learn  as 
we  proceed. 

As  soon  as  Captain  Digges  had  taken  a  glass  or  two  of 
wine  with  his  old  acquaintance,  we  returned  to  our  own 
ship,  and  the  two  vessels  made  sail ;  the  Ganges  stand 
ing  off  to  the  northward  and  eastward,  while  we  ran  in  for 
the  capes  of  the  Delaware.  We  got  in  under  Cape  May,  or 
within  five  miles  of  it,  the  same  evening,  when  it  fell  nearly 
calm.  A  pilot  came  off  from  the  cape  in  a  row-boat,  and  he 
reached  us  just  at  dark.  Captain  Robbins  now  became  all 
impatience  to  land,  as  it  was  of  importance  to  him  to  be  the 
bearer  of  his  own  bad  news.  Accordingly,  an  arrangement 
having  been  made  with  the  two  men  who  belonged  to  the 
shore-boat,  our  old  commander,  Rupert  and  myself,  pre 
pared  to  leave  the  ship,  late  as  it  was.  We  two  lads  were 
taken  for  the  purpose  of  manning  two  additional  oars,  but 
were  to  rejoin  the  ship  in  the  bay,  if  possible ;  if  not,  up  at 
town.  One  of  the  inducements  of  Captain  Robbins  to  be  off, 
was  the  signs  of  northerly  weather.  ItTiad  begun  to  blow 
a  little  in  puffs  from  the  north-west ;  and  everybody  knew, 


94  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

if  it  came  on  to  blow  seriously  from  that  quarter,  the  ship 
might  be  a  week  in  getting  up  the  river,  her  news  being 
certain  to  precede  her.  We  hurried  off  accordingly,  taking 
nothing  with  us  but  a  change  of  linen,  and  a  few  necessary 
papers. 

We  got  the  first  real  blast  from  the  north-west  in  less  than 
five  minutes  after  we  had  quitted  the  Tigris's  side,  and  while 
the  ship  was  still  visible,  or,  rather,  while  we  could  yet  see 
the  lights  in  her  cabin-windows,  as  she  fell  off  before  the 
wind.  Presently  the  lights  disappeared,  owing,  no  doubt,  to 
the  ship's  luffing  again.  The  symptoms  now  looked  so 
threatening,  that  the  pilot's  men  proposed  making  an  effort, 
before  it  was  too  late,  to  find  the  ship  ;  but  this  was  far  easier 
said  than  done.  The  vessel  might  be  spinning  away  towards 
Cape  Henlopen,  at  the  rate  of  six  or  seven  knots  ;  and,  with 
out  the  means  of  making  any  signal  in  the  dark,  it  was 
impossible  to  overtake  her.  I  do  believe  that  Captain  Rob- 
bins  would  have  acceded  to  the  request  of  the  men,  had  he 
seen  any  probability  of  succeeding ;  as  it  was,  there  remained 
no  alternative  but  to  pull  in,  and  endeavour  to  reach  the 
land.  We  had  the  light  on  the  cape  as  our  beacon,  and  the 
boat's  head  was  kept  directly  for  it,  as  the  wisest  course  for 
us  to  pursue. 

Changes  of  wind  from  south-east  to  north-west  are  very 
common  on  the  American  coast.  They  are  almost  always 
sudden  ;  sometimes  so  much  so,  as  to  take  ships  aback ;  and 
the  force  of  the  breeze  usually  comes  so  early,  as  to  have 
produced  the  saying  that  a  "  nor'-wester  comes  butt-end 
foremost."  Such  proved  to  be  the  fact  in  our  case.  In  less 
than  half  an  hour  after  it  began  to  blow,  the  wind  would 
have  brought  the  most  gallant  ship  that  floated  to  double- 
reefed  topsails,  steering  by,  and  to  reasonably  short  canvass, 
running  large.  We  may  have  pulled  a  mile  in  this  half 
hour,  though  it  was  by  means  of  a  quick  stroke  and  great 
labour.  The  Cape  May  men  were  vigorous  and  experienced, 
and  they  did  wonders;  nor  were  Rupert  and  I  idle;  but,  as 
soon  as  the  sea  got  up,  it  was  as  much  as  all  four  of  us 
could  do  to  keep  steerage-way  on  the  boat.  There  were  ten 
minutes,  during  which  I  really  think  the  boat  was  kept  head 
to  sea  by  means  oT  the  wash  of  the  waves  that  drove  past, 
as  wo  barely  held  her  stationary. 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  95 

Of  course,  it  was  out  of  the  question  to  continue  exertions 
hat  were  as  useless  as  they  were  exhausting.  We  tried 
he  expedient,  however,  of  edging  to  the  northward,  with  the 
lope  of  getting  more  under  the  lee  of  the  land,  and,  conse 
quent!)^  into  smoother  water;  but  it  did  no  good.  The 
nearest  we  ever  got  to  the  light  must  have  considerably 
exceeded  a  league.  At  length  Rupert,  totally  exhausted, 
dropped  his  oar,  and  fell  panting  on  the  thwart.  He  was 
directed  to  steer,  Captain  Robbins  taking  his  place.  I  can 
only  liken  our  situation  at  that  fearful  moment  to  the  danger 
of  a  man  who  is  clinging  to  a  cliff,  its  summit  and  safety 
almost  in  reach  of  his  hand,  with  the  consciousness  that  his 
powers  are  fast  failing  him,  and  that  he  must  shortly  go 
down.  It  is  true,  death  was  not  so  certain  by  our  abandon 
ing  the  effort  to  reach  the  land,  but  the  hope  of  being  saved 
was  faint  indeed.  Behind  us  lay  the  vast  and  angry  Atlantic, 
without  an  inch  of  visible  land  between  us  and  the  Rock  of 
Lisbon.  We  were  totally  without  food  of  any  sort,  though, 
luckily,  there  was  a  small  breaker  of  fresh  water  in  the 
boat.  The  Cape  May  men  had  brought  off  their  suppers 
with  them,  but  they  had  made  the  meal ;  whereas  the  rest 
of  us  had  left  the  Tigris  fasting,  intending  to  make  comfort 
able  suppers  at  the  light. 

At  length  Captain  Robbins  consulted  the  boatmen,  and 
asked  them  what  they  thought  of  our  situation.  I  sat  be 
tween  these  men,  who  had  been  remarkably  silent  the  whole 
time,  pulling  like  giants.  Both  were  young,  though,  as  I 
afterwards  learned,  both  were  married ;  each  having  a  wife, 
at  that  anxious  moment,  waiting  on  the  beach  of  the  cape 
for  the  return  of  the  boat.  As  Captain  Robbins  put  the 
question,  I  turned  my  head,  and  saw  that  the  man  behind 
me,  the  oldest  of  the  two,  was  in  tears.  I  cannot  describe 
the  shock  I  experienced  at  this  sight.  Here  was  a  man 
accustomed  to  hardships  and  dangers,  who  was  making  the 
stoutest  and  most  manly  efforts  to  save  himself  and  all  with 
him,  at  the  very  moment,  so  strongly  impressed  with  the 
danger  of  our  situation,  that  his  feelings  broke  forth  in  a  way 
it  is  always  startling  to  witness,  when  the  grief  of  man  is 
thus  exhibited  in  tears.  The  imagination  of  this  husband 
was  doubtless  picturing  to  his  mind  the  anguish  of  his  wife 
at  that  moment,  and  perhaps  the  long  days  of  sorrow  that 


96  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

were  to  succeed.  I  have  no  idea  he  thought  of  himself, 
apart  from  his  wife  :  for  a  finer,  more  manly  resolute  fellow, 
never  existed,  as  he  subsequently  proved,  to  the  fullest 
extent. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  the  two  Cape  May  men  had  a  sort 
of  desperate  reluctance  to  give  up  the  hope  of  reaching  the 
land.  We  were  a  strong  boat's  crew,  and  we  had  a  capital, 
hough  a  light  boat ;  yet  all  would  not  do.  About  midnight, 
after  pulling  desperately  for  three  hours,  my  strength  was 
quite  gone,  and  I  had  to  give  up  the  oar.  Captain  Robbins 
confessed  himself  in  a  very  little  better  state,  and)  it  being 
impossible  for  the  boatmen  to  do  more  than  keep  the  boat 
stationary,  and  that  only  for  a  little  time  longer,  there  re 
mained  no  expedient  but  to  keep  off  before  the  wind,  in  the 
hope  of  still  falling  in  with  the  ship.  We  knew  that  the 
Tigris  was  on  the  starboard  tack  when  we  left  her,  and,  as 
she  would  certainly  endeavour  to  keep  as  close  in  with  the 
land  as  possible,  there  was  a  remaining  chance  that  she  had 
wore  ship  to  keep  off  Henlopen,  and  might  be  heading  up 
about  north-north-east,  and  laying  athwart  the  mouth  of  the 
bay.  This  left  us  just  a  chance — a  ray  of  hope ;  and  it  had 
now  become  absolutely  necessary  to  endeavour  to  profit 
by  it. 

The  two  Cape  May  men  pulled  the  boat  round,  and  kept 
her  just  ahead  of  the  seas,  as  far  as  it  was  in  their  power  ; 
very  light  touches  of  the  oars  sufficing  for  this,  where  it 
could  be  done  at  all.  Occasionally,  however,  one  of  those 
chasing  waves  would  come  after  us,  at  a  racer's  speed, 
invariably  breaking  at  such  instants,  and  frequently  half- 
filling  the  boat.  This  gave  us  new  employment,  Rupert  and 
myself  being  kept  quite  half  the  time  bailing.  No  occupa 
tion,  notwithstanding  the  danger,  could  prevent  me  from 
looking  about  the  cauldron  of  angry  waters,  in  quest  of  the 
ship.  Fifty  times  did  I  fancy  I  saw  her,  and  as  often  did  the 
delusive  idea  end  in  disappointment.  The  waste  of  dark 
waters,  relieved  by  the  gleaming  of  the  combing  seas,  alone 
met  the  senses.  The  wind  blew  directly  down  the  estuary, 
and,  in  crossing  its  mouth,  we  found  too  much  swell  to 
receive  it  on  our  beam,  and  were  soon  compelled,  most 
reluctantly  though  it  was,  to  keep  dead  away  to  prevent 
swamping.  This  painful  state  of  expectation  may  have 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  97 

lasted  half  an  hour,  the  boat  sometimes  seeming  ready  to 
fly  out  of  the  water,  as  it  drifted  before  the  gale,  when 
ilupert  unexpectedly  called  out  that  he  saw  the  ship  ! 

There  she  was,  sure  enough,  with  her  head  to  the  north 
ward  and  eastward,  struggling  along  through  the  raging 
waters,  under  her  fore  and  main-top-sails,  close-reefed,  and 
reefed  courses,  evidently  clinging  to  the  land  as  close  as  she 
could,  both  to  hold  her  own  and  to  make  good  weather.  It 
was  barely  light  enough  to  ascertain  these  facts,  though  the 
ship  was  not  a  cable's  length  from  us  when  first  discovered. 
Unfortunately,  she  was  dead  to  leeward  of  us,  and  was 
drawing  ahead  so  fast  as  to  leave  the  probability  she  would 
foreseach  upon  us,  unless  we  took  to  all  our  oars.  This 
was  done  as  soon  as  possible,  and  away  we  went,  at  a  rapid 
rate,  aiming  to  shoot  directly  beneath  the  Tigris's  lee-quarter, 
so  as  to  round-to  under  shelter  of  her  hull,  there  to  receive 
a  rope. 

We  pulled  like  giants.  Three  several  times  the  water 
slapped  into  us,  rendering  the  boat  more  and  more  heavy ; 
but  Captain.  Robbins  told  us  to  pull  on,  every  moment  being 
precious.  As  I  did  not  look  round — could  not  well,  indeed 
— I  saw  no  more  of  the  ship  until  I  got  a  sudden  glimpse 
of  her  dark  hull,  within  a  hundred  feet  of  us,  surging  ahead 
in  the  manner  in  which  vessels  at  sea  seem  to  take  sudden 
starts  that  carry  them  forward  at  twice  their  former  apparent 
speed.  Captain  Robbins  had  begun  to  hail,  the  instant  he 
thought  himself  near  enough,  or  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred 
yards ;  but  what  was  the  human  voice  amid  the  music  of 
*he  winds  striking  the  various  cords,  and  I  may  add  chords, 
in  the  mazes  of  a  square-rigged  vessel's  hamper,  accompa 
nied  by  the  base  of  the  roaring  ocean  !  Heavens !  what  a 
feeling  of  despair  was  that,  when  the  novel  thought  suggested 
itself  almost  simultaneously  LO  our  minds,  that  we  should  not 
make  ourselves  heard !  I  say  simultaneously,  for  at  the 
same  instant  the  whole  five  of  us  set  up  a  common,  despe 
rate  shout  to  alarm  those  who  were  so  near  us,  and  who 
might  easily  save  us  from  the  most  dreadful  of  all  deaths — 
starvation  at  sea.  I  presume  the  fearful  manner  in  which 
we  struggled  at  the  oars  diminished  the  effect  of  our  voices, 
H-^ile  the  effort  to  raise  a  noise  lessened  our  power  with  the 
9 


98  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

oars.  We  were  already  to  leeward  of  the  ship,  thougn 
nearly  in  her  wake,  and  our  only  chance  now  was  to  over 
take  her.  The  captain  called  out  to  us  to  pull  for  life  or 
death,  and  pull  we  did.  So  frantic  were  our  efforts,  that  I 
really  think  we  should  have  succeeded,  had  not  a  sea  come 
on  board  us,  and  filled  us  to  the  thwarts.  There  remained 
no  alternative  but  to  keep  dead  away,  and  to  bail  for  our 
lives. 

I  confess  I  felt  scalding  tears  gush  down  my  cheeks,  as  1 
gazed  at  the  dark  mass  of  the  ship  just  before  it  was  swal 
lowed  up  in  the  gloom.  This  soon  occurred,  and  then,  I 
make  no  doubt,  every  man  in  the  boat  considered  himself 
as  hopelessly  lost.  We  continued  to  bail,  notwithstanding ; 
and,  using  hats,  gourds,  pots  and  pails,  soon  cleared  the 
boat,  though  it  was  done  with  no  other  seeming  object  than 
to  avert  immediate  death.  I  heard  one  of  the  Cape  May 
men  pray.  The  name  of  his  wife  mingled  with  his  petitions 
to  God.  As  for  poor  Captain  Robbins,  who  had  so  recently 
been  in  another  scene  of  equal  danger  in  a  boat,  he  remained 
silent,  seemingly  submissive  to  the  decrees  of  Providence. 

In  this  state  we  must  have  drifted  a  league  dead  before 
the  wind,  the  Cape  May  men  keeping  their  eyes  on  the  light, 
which  was  just  sinking  below  the  horizon,  while  the  rest  of 
us  were  gazing  seaward  in  ominous  expectation  of  what 
awaited  us  in  that  direction,  when  the  hail  of  "  Boat  ahoy  !" 
sounded  like  the  last  trumpet  in  our  ears.  A  schooner  was 
passing  our  track,  keeping  a  little  off,  and  got  so  near  as  to 
allow  us  to  be  seen,  though,  owing  to  a  remark  about  the 
light  which  drew  all  eyes  to  windward,  not  a  soul  of  us  saw 
her.  It  was  too  late  to  avert  the  blow,  for  the  hail  had 
hardly  reached  us,  when  the  schooner's  cut- water  came 
down  upon  our  little  craft,  and  buried  it  in  the  sea  as  if  it 
had  been  lead.  At  such  moments  men  do  not  think,  but 
act.  I  caught  at  a  bob-stay,  and  missed  it.  As  I  went 
down  into  the  water,  my  hand  fell  upon  some  object  to  which 
I  clung,  and,  the  schooner  rising  at  the  next  instant,  I  was 
grasped  by  the  hair  by  one  of  the  vessel's  men.  I  had 
hold  of  one  of  the  Cape  May  men's  legs.  Released  from  my 
weight,  this  man  was  soon  in  the  vessel's  head,  and  he  helped 
to  save  me.  When  we  got  in-board,  and  mustered  our  party 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  99 

ll  was  found  that  all  had  been  saved  but  Captain  Robbins. 
The  schooner  wore  round,  and  actually  passed  over  the 
wreck  of  the  boat  a  second  time;  but  our  old  commander 
was  never  heard  of  more  ! 


CHAPTER    VII. 

'•  Oh  !  forget  not  the  hour,  when  through  forest  and  vale 
We  returned  with  our  chief  to  his  dear  native  halls ! 
Through  the  woody  Sierra  there  sigh'd  not  a  gale, 
And  the  moonbeam  was  bright  on  his  battlement  walls ; 
And  nature  lay  sleeping  in  calmness  and  light, 
Round  the  house  of  the  truants,  that  rose  on  our  sight." 

MRS.  HEMANS. 

WE  had  fallen  on  board  an  eastern  coaster,  called  the 
Martha  Wallis,  bound  from  James'  River  to  Boston,  intend 
ing  to  cross  the  shoals.  Her  watch  had  seen  us,  because 
the  coasters  generally  keep  better  look-outs  than  Indiamen  ; 
the  latter,  accustomed  to  good  offings,  having  a  trick  of  let 
ting  their  people  go  to  sleep  in  the  night-watches.  I  made 
a  calculation  of  the  turns  on  board  the  Tigris,  and  knew  it 
was  Mr.  Marble's  watch  when  we  passed  the  ship ;  and  I 
make  no  question  he  was,  at  that  very  moment,  nodding  on 
the  hencoops — a  sort  of  trick  he  had.  I  cannot  even  now 
understand,  however,  why  the  man  at  the  wheel  did  not  hear 
the  outcry  we  made.  To  me  it  appeared  loud  enough  to 
reach  the  land. 

Sailors  ordinarily  receive  wrecked  mariners  kindly.  Our 
treatment  on  board  the  Martha  Wallis  was  all  I  could  have 
desired,  and  the  captain  promised  to  put  us  on  board  the 
first  coaster  she  should  fall  in  with,  bound  to  New  York. 
He  was  as  good  as  his  word,  though  not  until  more  than  a 
week  had  elapsed.  It  fell  calm  as  soon  as  the  north-wester 
blew  its  pipe  out,  and  we  did  not  get  into  the  Vineyard  Sound 
for  nine  days.  Here  we  met  a  craft  the  skipper  knew,  and, 
being  a  regular  Boston  and  New  York  coaster,  we  were  put 
on  board  her,  with  a  recommendation  to  good  treatment. 


100  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

The  people  of  the  Lovely  Lass  received  us  just  as  we  had 
been  received  on  board  the  Martha  Wallis ;  all  hands  of  us 
living  aft,  and  eating  codfish,  good  beef  and  pork,  with  duff 
(dough)  and  molasses,  almost  ad  libitum.  From  this  last 
vessel  we  learned  all  the  latest  news  of  the  French  war,  and 
how  things  were  going  on  in  the  country.  The  fourth  day 
after  we  were  put  on  board  this  craft,  Rupert  and  I  landed 
near  Peck's  Slip,  New  York,  with  nothing  on  earth  in  our 
possession,  but  just  in  what  we  stood.  This,  however,  gave 
us  but  little  concern — I  had  abundance  at  home,  and  Rupert 
was  certain  of  being  free  from  want,  both  through  me  and 
through  his  father. 

I  had  never  parted  with  the  gold  given  me  by  Lucy,  how 
ever.  When  we  got  into  the  boat  to  land  at  the  cape,  I  had 
put  on  the  belt  in  which  I  kept  this  little  treasure,  and  it  was 
still  round  my  body.  I  had  kept  it  as  a  sort  of  memorial 
of  the  dear  girl  who  had  given  it  to  me ;  but  I  now  saw  the 
means  of  making  it  useful,  without  disposing  of  it  altogether. 
I  knew  that  the  widest  course,  in  all  difficulties,  was  to  go 
at  once  to  head-quarters.  I  asked  the  address  of  the  firm 
that  owned,  or  rather  had  owned  the  John,  and  proceeded  to 
the  counting-house  forthwith.  I  told  my  story,  but  found 
that  Kite  had  been  before  me.  It  seems  that  the  Tigris  got 
a  fair  wind,  three  days  after  the  blow,  that  carried  her  up  tc 
the  very  wharves  of  Philadelphia,  when  most  of  the  John  s 
people  had  come  on  to  New  York  without  delay.  By  com 
munications  with  the  shore  at  the  cape,  the  pilot  had  learned 
that  his  boat  had  never  returned,  and  our  loss  was  supposed 
to  have  inevitably  occurred.  The  accounts  of  all  this  were 
in  the  papers,  and  I  began  to  fear  that  the  distressing  tidings 
might  have  reached  Clawbonny.  Indeed,  there  were  little 
obituary  notices  of  Rupert  and  myself  in  the  journals,  inserted 
by  some  hand  piously  employed,  I  should  think,  by  Mr. 
Kite.  We  were  tenderly  treated,  considering  our  escapade; 
and  my  fortune  and  prospects  were  dwelt  on  with  some 
touches  of  eloquence  that  might  have  been  spared. 

In  that  day,  however,  a  newspaper  was  a  very  different 
thing  from  what  it  has  since  become.  Then,  journals  were 
created  merely  to  meet  the  demand,  and  news  was  given  as 
it  actually  occurred ;  whereas,  now,  the  competition  hag 
produced  a  change  that  any  one  can  appreciate,  when  it  ia 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  101 

remembered  to  what  a  competition  in  news  must  infallibly 
lead.  In  that  day,  our  own  journals  had  not  taken  to  imi 
tating  the  worst  features  of  the  English  newspapers — talents 
and  education  are  not  yet  cheap  enough  in  America  to  ena 
ble  them  to  imitate  the  best — and  the  citizen  was  supposed 
to  have  some  rights,  as  put  in  opposition  to  the  press.  The 
public  sense  of  right  had  not  become  blunted  by  familiarity 
with  abuses,  and  the  miserable  and  craven  apology  was  never 
heard  for  not  enforcing  the  laws,  that  nobody  cares  for  what 
the  newspapers  say.  Owing  to  these  causes,  I  escaped  a 
thousand  lies  about  myself,  my  history,  my  disposition,  cha 
racter  and  acts.  Still,  I  was  in  print ;  and  I  confess  it  half- 
frightened  me  to  see  my  death  announced  in  such  obvious 
letters,  although  I  had  physical  evidence  of  being  alive  and 
well. 

The  owners  questioned  me  closely  about  the  manner  in 
which  the  John  was  lost,  and  expressed  themselves  satisfied 
with  my  answers.  I  then  produced  my  half-joes,  and  asked 
to  borrow  something  less  than  their  amount  on  their  security. 
To  the  latter  part  of  the  proposition,  however,  these  gentle 
men  would  not  listen,  forcing  a  check  for  a  hundred  dollars 
on  me,  desiring  that  the  money  might  be  paid  at  my  own 
convenience.  Knowing  I  had  Clawbonny,  and  a  very  com 
fortable  income  under  my  lee,  I  made  no  scruples  about 
accepting  the  sum,  and  took  my  leave. 

Rupert  and  I  had  now  the  means  of  equipping  ourselves 
neatly,  though  always  in  sailor  guise.  After  this  was  done, 
we  proceeded  to  the  Albany  basin,  in  order  to  ascertain 
whether  the  Wallingford  were  down  or  not.  At  the  basin 
we  learned  that  the  sloop  had  gone  out  that  very  forenoon, 
having  on  board  a  black  with  his  young  master's  effects ;  a 
lad  who  was  said  to  have  been  out  to  Canton  with  young 
Mr.  Wallingford,  and  who  was  now  on  his  way  home,  to 
report  all  the  sad  occurrences  to  the  family  in  Ulster.  This, 
then,  was  Neb,  who  had  got  thus  far  back  in  charge  of  our 
chests,  and  was  about  to  return  to  slavery. 

We  had  been  in  hopes  that  we  might  possibly  reach 
Clawbonny  before  the  tidings  of  our  loss.  This  intelligence 
was  likely  to  defeat  the  expectation  ;  but,  luckily,  one  of  the 
fastest  sloops  on  the  river,  a  Hudson  packet,  was  on  the 
point  of  sailing,  and,  though  the  wind  held  well  to  the  north- 
9* 


102  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

ward,  her  master  thought  he  should  be  able  to  turn  up  with 
the  tides,  as  high  as  our  creek,  m  the  course  of  the  next 
eight-and-forty  hours.  This  was  quite  as  much  as  the  Wai- 
lingford  could  do,  I  felt  well  persuaded ;  and,  making  a  bar- 
gain  to  be  landed  on  the  western  shore,  Rupert  and  I  put 
our  things  on  board  this  packet,  and  were  under  way  in 
half  an  hour's  time. 

So  strong  was  my  own  anxiety,  I  could  not  keep  off  the 
deck  until  we  had  anchored  on  account  of  the  flood ;  and 
much  did  I  envy  Rupert,  who  had  coolly  turned  in  as  soon 
as  it  was  dark,  and  went  to  sleep.  When  the  anchor  wag 
down,  I  endeavoured  to  imitate  his  example.  On  turning 
out  next  morning,  I  found  the  vessel  in  Newburgh  Bay,  with 
a  fair  wind.  About  twelve  o'clock  I  could  see  the  mouth 
of  the  creek,  and  the  Wallingford  fairly  entering  it,  her  sails 
disappearing  behind  the  trees,  just  as  I  caught  sight  of  them. 
As  no  other  craft  of  her  size  ever  went  up  to  that  landing, 
I  could  not  be  mistaken  in  the  vessel. 

By  getting  ashore  half  a  mile  above  the  creek,  there  was 
a  farm-road  that  would  lead  to  the  house  by  a  cut  so  short, 
as  nearly  to  bring  us  there  as  soon  as  Neb  could  possibly 
arrive  with  his  dire,  but  false  intelligence.  The  place  was 
pointed  out  to  the  capitain,  who  had  extracted  our  secret 
from  us,  and  who  good-naturedly  consented  to  do  all  we 
asked  of  him.  I  do  think  he  would  have  gone  into  the  creek 
itself,  had  it  been  required.  But  we  were  landed,  with  our 
bag  of  clothes — one  answered  very  well  for  both — at  the 
place  I  have  mentioned,  and,  taking  turn  about  to  shoulder 
the  wardrobe,  away  we  went,  as  fast  as  legs  could  carry  us. 
Even  Rupert  seemed  to  feel  on  this  occasion,  and  I  do  think 
he  had  a  good  deal  of  contrition,  as  he  must  have  recollected 
the  pain  he  had  occasioned  his  excellent  father,  and  dear, 
good  sister. 

Clawbonny  never  looked  more  beautiful  than  when  I  first 
cast  eyes  on  it,  that  afternoon.  There  lay  the  house  in  the 
secure  retirement  of  its  smiling  vale,  the  orchards  just  be 
ginning  to  lose  their  blossoms  ;  the  broad,  rrch  meadows, 
with  the  grass  waving  in  the  south  wind,  resembling  velvet : 
the  fields  of  corn  of  all  sorts ;  and  the  cattle,  as  they  stood 
ruminating,  or  enjoying  their  existence  in  motionless  self- 
indulgence  beneath  the  shade  of  trees,  seemed  to  speak  of 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORK.  103 

abundance  and  considerate  treatment.  Everything  denoted 
peace,  plenty  and  happiness.  Yet  this  place,  with  all  its 
blessings  and  security,  had  I  wilfully  deserted  to  encounter 
pirates  in  the  Straits  of  Sunda,  shipwreck  on  the  shores  of 
Madagascar,  jeopardy  in  an  open  boat  off  the  Isle  of  France, 
and  a  miraculous  preservation  from  a  horrible  death  on  my 
own  coast ! 

At  no  great  distance  from  the  house  was  a  dense  grove, 
in  which  Rupert  and  I  had,  with  our  own  hands,  constructed 
a  rude  summer-house,  fit  to  be  enjoyed  on  just  such  an  after 
noon  as  this  on  which  we  had  returned.  When  distant  from 
it  only  two  hundred  yards,  we  saw  the  girls  enter  the  wood, 
evidently  taking  the  direction  of  the  seat.  At  the  same 
moment  1  caught  a  glimpse  of  Neb  moving  up  the  road  from 
the  landing  at  a  snail's  pace,  as  if  the  poor  fellow  dreaded 
to  encounter  the  task  before  him.  After  a  moment's  con 
sultation,  we  determined  to  proceed  at  once  to  the  grove, 
and  thus  anticipate  the  account  of  Neb,  who  must  pass  so 
near  the  summer-house  as  to  be  seen  and  recognised.  We 
met  with  more  obstacles  than  we  had  foreseen  or  remem 
bered,  and  when  we  got  to  a  thicket  close  in  the  rear  of  the 
bench,  we  found  that  the  black  was  already  in  the  presence 
of  his  two  **  young  mistresses," 

The  appearance  of  the  three,  when  I  first  caught  a  near 
view  of  them,  was  such  as  almost  to  terrify  me.  Even  Neb, 
whose  face  was  usually  as  shiaing  as  a  black  bottle,  was 
almost  of  the  colour  of  ashes.  The  poor  fellow  could  not 
speak,  and,  though  Lucy  was  actually  shaking  him  to  ex 
tract  an  explanation,  the  only  answer  she  could  get  was 
tears.  These  flowed  from  Neb's  eyes  in  streams,  and  at 
length  the  fellow  threw  himself  on  the  ground,  and  fairly 
began  to  groan. 

"Can  this  be  shame  at  having  run  away?"  exclaimed 
Lucy,  "  or  does  it  foretell  evil  to  the  boys  ?" 

"  He  knows  nothing  of  them,  not  having  been  with  them 
—yet,  I  am  terrified." 

"  Not  on  my  account,  dearest  sister,"  I  cried  aloud ; 
*  here  are  Rupert  and  I,  God  be  praised,  both  in  good  health, 
and  safe." 

I  took  care  fo  remain  hid,  as  I  uttered  this,  not  to  alarm 
more  than  one  sense  at  a  time,-  but  both  the  girls  shrieked. 


104  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

and  held  out  their  arms.  Rupert  and  I  hesitated  no  longer, 
but  sprang  forward.  I  know  not  how  it  happened,  though 
I  found,  on  recovering  my  self-possession,  that  I  was  folding 
Lucy  to  my  heart,  while  Rupert  was  doing  the  same  to 
Grace.  This  little  mistake,  however,  was  soon  rectified, 
each  man  embracing  his  own  sister,  as  in  duty  bound,  and  as 
was  most  decorous.  The  girls  shed  torrents  of  tears,  and 
assured  us,  again  and  again,  that  this  was  the  only  really 
happy  moment  they  had  known  since  the  parting  on  the 
wharf,  nearly  a  twelvemonth  before.  Then  followed  looks 
at  each  other,  exclamations  of  surprise  and  pleasure  at  the 
changes  that  had  taken  place  in  the  appearance  of  all  par 
ties,  and  kisses  and  tears  again,  in  abundance. 

As  for  Neb,  the  poor  fellow  was  seen  in  the  road,  whither 
he  had  fled  at  the  sound  of  my  voice,  looking  at  us  like  one 
in  awe  and  doubt.  Being  satisfied,  in  the  end,  of  our  iden 
tity,  as  well  as  of  our  being  in  the  flesh,  the  negro  again 
threw  himself  on  the  ground,  rolling  over  and  over,  and 
fairly  yelling  with  delight.  After  going  through  this  process 
of  negro  excitement,  he  leaped  up  on  his  feet,  and  started  for 
the  house,  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  as  if  certain  the 
good  intelligence  he  brought  would  secure  his  own  pardon — 
"  Master  Miles  come  home  ! — Master  Miles  come  home  !" 

In  a  few  minutes,  quiet  was  sufficiently  restored  among 
us  four,  who  remained  at  the  seat,  to  ask  questions,  and 
receive  intelligible  answers.  Glad  was  I  to  ascertain  that 
the  girls  had  been  spared  the  news  of  our  loss.  As  for  Mr. 
Hardinge,  he  was  well,  and  busied,  as  usual,  in  discharging 
the  duties  of  his  holy  office.  He  had  told  Grace  and  Lucy 
the  name  of  the  vessel  in  which  we  had  shipped,  but  said 
nothing  of  the  painful  glimpse  he  had  obtained  of  us,  just  as 
we  lifted  our  anchor,  to  quit  the  port.  Grace,  in  a  solemn 
manner,  then  demanded  an  outline  of  our  adventures.  As 
Rupert  was  the  spokesman  on  this  occasion,  the  question 
having  been  in  a  manner  put  to  him  as  oldest,  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  watching  the  sweet  countenances  of  the  two 
painfully  interested  listeners.  Rupert  affected  modesty  in 
his  narration,  if  he  did  not  feel  it,  though  I  remarked  that 
he  dwelt  a  little  particularly  on  the  shot  which  had  lodged 
so  near  him,  in  the  head  of  the  Tigris's  foremast.  He  spoke 
of  the  whistling  it  made  as  it  approached,  and  the  violence 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  105 

of  the  blow  when  it  struck.  He  had  the  impudence,  too,  to 
speak  of  my  good-luck  in  being  on  the  other  side  of  the  top, 
when  the  shot  passed  through  my  station ;  whereas  I  do 
believe  that  the  shot  passed  nearer  to  me  than  it  did  to  him 
self.  It  barely  missed  me,  and  by  all  I  could  learn  Rupert 
was  leaning  over  by  the  top-mast  rigging  when  it  lodged. 
The  fellow  told  his  story  in  his  own  way,  however,  and  with 
so  much  unction  that  I  observed  it  made  Grace  look  pale. 
The  effect  on  Lucy  was  different.  This  excellent  creature 
perceived  my  uneasiness,  I  half  suspected,  for  she  laughed, 
and,  interrupting  her  brother,  told  him,  "There  —  that's 
enough  about  the  cannon-ball ;  now  let  us  hear  of  something 
else."  Rupert  coloured,  for  he  had  frequently  had  such 
frank  hints  from  his  sister,  in  the  course  of  his  childhood  j 
but  he  had  too  much  address  to  betray  the  vexation  I  knew 
he  felt. 

To  own  the  truth,  my  attachment  for  Rupert  had  mate 
rially  lessened  with  the  falling  off  of  my  respect.  He  had 
manifested  so  much  selfishness  during  the  voyage  —  had 
shirked  so  much  duty,  most  of  which  had  fallen  on  poor 
Neb — and  had  been  so  little  of  the  man,  in  practice,  whom 
he  used  so  well  to  describe  with  his  tongue — that  I  could  no 
longer  shut  my  eyes  to  some  of  his  deficiencies  of  character. 
I  still  liked  him ;  but  it  was  from  habit,  and  perhaps  because 
he  was  my  guardian's  son,  and  Lucy's  brother.  Then  I 
could  not  conceal  from  myself  that  Rupert  was  not,  in  a 
rigid  sense,  a  lad  of  truth.  He  coloured,  exaggerated, 

lossed  over  and  embellished,  if  he  did  not  absolutely  invent. 

was  not  old  enough  then  to  understand  that  most  of  the 
statements  that  float  about  the  world  are  nothing  but  truths 
distorted,  and  that  nothing  is  more  rare  than  unadulterated 
fact ;  that  truths  and  lies  travel  in  company,  as  described 
by  Pope  in  his  Temple  of  Fame,  until — 

"This  or  that  unmixed,  no  mortal  e'er  shall  find." 

In  this  very  narration  of  our  voyage,  Rupert  had  left  false 
impressions  on  the  minds  of  his  listeners,  in  fifty  things. 
He  had  made  far  more  of  both  our  little  skirmishes,  than 
the  truth  would  warrant,  and  he  had  neglected  to  do  justice 
to  Neb  in  his  account  of  each  of  the  affairs.  Then  he  com- 
n/ended  Captain  Robbins's  conduct  in  connection  with  the 


f 


106  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

loss  of  the  John,  on  points  that  could  not  be  sustained,  and 
censured  him  for  measures  that  deserved  praise.  I  knew 
Rupert  was  no  seaman — was  pretty  well  satisfied,  by  this 
time,  he  never  would  make  one — but  I  could  not  explain  all 
his  obliquities  by  referring  them  to  ignorance.  The  manner, 
moreover,  in  which  he  represented  himself  as  the  principal 
actor,  on  all  occasions,  denoted  so  much  address,  that,  while 
I  felt  the  falsity  of  the  impressions  he  left,  I  did  not  exactly 
see  the  means  necessary  to  counteract  them.  So  ingenious, 
indeed,  was  his  manner  of  stringing  facts  and  inferences 
together,  or  what  seemed  to  be  facts  and  inferences,  that  I 
more  than  once  caught  myself  actually  believing  that  which, 
in  sober  reality,  I  knew  to  be  false.  I  was  still  too  young, 
not  quite  eighteen,  to  feel  any  apprehensions  on  the  subject 
of  Grace ;  and  was  too  much  accustomed  to  both  Rupert 
and  his  sister,  to  regard  either  with  any  feelings  very  widely 
different  from  those  which  I  entertained  for  Grace  herself. 

As  soon  as  the  history  of  our  adventures  and  exploits  was 
concluded,  we  all  had  leisure  to  observe  and  comment  on  the 
alterations  that  time  had  made  in  our  several  persons.  Ru 
pert,  being  the  oldest,  was  the  least  changed  in  this  particu 
lar.  He  had  got  his  growth  early,  and  was  only  a  little 
spread.  He  had  cultivated  a  pair  of  whiskers  at  sea,  which 
rendered  his  face  a  little  more  manly — an  improvement,  by 
the  way — but,  the  effects  of  exposure  and  of  the  sun  ex- 
cepted,  there  was  no  very  material  change  in  his  exterior. 
Perhaps,  on  the  whole,  he  was  improved  in  appearance.  I 
think  both  the  girls  fancied  this,  though  Grace  did  not  say 
it,  and  Lucy  only  half  admitted  it,  and  that  with  many 
reservations.  As  for  myself,  I  was  also  full-grown,  standing 
exactly  six  feet  in  my  stockings,  which  was  pretty  well  for 
eighteen.  But  I  had  also  spread ;  a  fact  that  is  not  common  for 
lads  at  that  age.  Grace  said  I  had  lost  all  delicacy  of  ap 
pearance  ;  and  as  for  Lucy,  though  she  laughed  and  blushed 
she  protested  I  began  to  look  like  a  great  bear.  To  confess 
the  truth,  I  was  well  satisfied  with  my  own  appearance,  did 
not  envy  Rupert  a  jot,  and  knew  I  could  toss  him  over  my 
shoulder  whenever  I  chose.  I  stood  the  strictures  on  my 
appearance,  therefore,  very  well ;  and,  though  no  one  was 
so  much  derided  and  laughed  at  as  myself,  in  that  critical 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  107 

discussion,  no  one  cared  less  for  it  all.     Just  as  I  was  per 
mitred  to  escape,  Lucy  said,  in  an  under  tone — 

"You  should  have  staid  at  home,  Miles,  and  then  the 
cha.nges  would  have  come  so  gradually,  no  one  would  have 
noticed  them,  and  you  would  have  escaped  being  told  how 
much  you  are  altered,  and  that  you  are  a  bear." 

I  looked  eagerly  round  at  the  speaker,  and  eyed  her 
intently.  A  look  of  regret  passed  over  the  dear  creature's 
face,  her  eyes  looked  as  penitent  as  they  did  soft,  and  the 
flush  that  suffused  her  countenance  rendered  this  last  ex 
pression  almost  bewitching.  At  the  same  instant  she  whis 
pered — "  I  did  not  really  mean  that." 

But  it  was  Grace's  turn,  and  my  attention  was  drawn  to 
my  sister.  A  year  had  made  great  improvements  in  Grace. 
Young  as  she  was,  she  had  lost  much  of  the  girlish  air,  in 
the  sedateness  and  propriety  of  the  young  woman.  Grace 
had  always  something  more  of  these  last  than  is  common  ; 
but  they  had  now  completely  removed  every  appearance  of 
childish,  I  might  almost  say  of  girlish,  frivolity.  In  person, 
her  improvement  was  great;  though  an  air  of  exceeding 
delicacy  rather  left  an  impression  that  such  a  being  was 
more  intended  for  another  world,  than  this.  There  was 
ever  an  air  of  fragility  and  of  pure  intellectuality  about  my 
poor  sister,  that  half  disposed  one  to  fancy  that  she  would 
one  day  be  translated  to  a  better  sphere  in  the  body,  pre 
cisely  as  she  stood  before  human  eyes.  Lucy  bore  the 
examination  well.  She  was  all  woman,  there  being  nothing 
about  her  to  create  any  miraculous  expectations,  or  fanciful 
pictures ;  but  she  was  evidently  fast  getting  to  be  a  very 
lovely  woman.  Honest,  sincere,  full  of  heart,  overflowing 
with  the  feelings  of  her  sex,  gentle  yet  spirited,  buoyant 
though  melting  with  the  charities ;  her  changeful,  but  natu 
ral  and  yet  constant  feelings  in  her,  kept  me  incessantly  in 
pursuit  of  her  playful  mind  and  varying  humours.  Still,  a 
more  high-principled  being,  a  firmer  or  more  consistent 
friend,  or  a  more  accurate  thinker  on  all  subjects  that  suited 
her  years  and  became  her  situation,  than  Lucy  Hardinge, 
never  existed.  Even  Grace  was  influenced  by  her  judgment, 
f;jough  I  did  not  then  know  how  much  my  sister's  mind  was 
guided  by  her  simple  and  less  pretending  friend's  capacity 
to  foresee  things,  and  to  reason  on  (heir  consequences. 


108  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

We  were  more  than  an  hour  uninterruptedly  together, 
before  \ve  thought  of  repairing  to  the  house.  Lucy  thei; 
reminded  Rupert  that  he  had  not  yet  seen  his  father,  whom 
she  had  just  before  observed  alighting  from  his  horse  at  the 
door  of  his  own  study.  That  he  had  been  apprised  of  the 
return  of  the  runaways,  if  not  prodigals,  was  evident,  she 
thought,  by  his  manner ;  and  it  was  disrespectful  to  delay 
seeking  his  forgiveness  and  blessing.  Mr.  Hardinge  received 
us  both  without  surprise,  and  totally  without  any  show  of 
resentment.  It  was  about  the  time  he  expected  our  return, 
and  no  surprise  was  felt  at  finding  this  expectation  realized, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  while  resentment  was  almost  a  stran 
ger  to  his  nature.  We  all  shed  tears,  the  girls  sobbing 
aloud ;  and  we  were  both  solemnly  blessed.  Nor  am  I 
ashamed  to  say  I  knelt  to  receive  that  blessing,  in  an  age 
when  the  cant  of  a  pretending  irreligion — there  is  as  much 
cant  in  self-sufficiency  as  in  hypocrisy,  and  they  very  often 
go  together — is  disposed  to  turn  into  ridicule  the  humbling 
of  the  person,  while  asking  for  the  blessing  of  the  Almighty 
through  the  ministers  of  his  altars ;  for  kneel  I  did,  and 
weep  I  did,  and,  I  trust,  the  one  in  humility  and  the  other  in 
contrition. 

When  we  had  all  become  a  little  calm,  and  a  substantial 
meal  was  placed  before  us  adventurers,  Mr.  Hardinge  de 
manded  an  account  of  all  that  had  passed.  He  applied  to 
me  to  give  it,  and  I  was  compelled  to  discharge  the  office  of 
an  historian,  somewhat  against  my  inclination.  There  was 
no  remedy,  however,  and  I  told  the  story  in  my  own  simple 
manner,  and  certainly  in  a  way  to  leave  very  different  im 
pressions  from  many  of  those  made  by  the  narrative  of 
Rupert.  I  thought  once  or  twice,  as  I  proceeded,  that  Lucy 
looked  sorrowful,  and  Grace  looked  surprised.  I  do  riot 
think  I  coloured  in  the  least,  as  regarded  myself,  and  I  know 
I  did  Neb  no  more  than  justice.  My  tale  was  soon  told,  for 
I  felt  the  whole  time  as  if  I  were  contradicting  Rupert,  who, 
by  the  way,  appeared  perfectly  unconcerned — perfectly  un 
conscious,  indeed — on  the  subject  of  the  discrepancies  in  the 
two  accounts.  I  have  since  met  with  men  who  did  not  know 
the  truth  when  it  was  even  placed  very  fairly  before  their 
eyes. 

Mr.  Hardinge  expressed  his  heartfelt  happiness  at  having 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  109 

us  back  again,  and,  soon  after,  he  ventured  to  ask  if  we 
were  satisfied  with  what  we  had  seen  of  the  world.  This 
was  a  home  question,  but  I  thought  it  best  to  meet  it  man 
fully.  So  far  from  being  satisfied,  I  told  him  it  was  my 
ardent  desire  to  get  on  board  one  of  the  letters-of-marque, 
of  which  so  many  were  then  fitting  out  in  the  country,  and 
to  make  a  voyage  to  Europe.  Rupert,  however,  confessed 
he  had  mistaken  his  vocation,  and  that  he  thought  he  could 
do  no  better  than  to  enter  a  lawyer's  office.  I  was  thunder 
struck  at  this  quiet  admission  of  my  friend,  of  his  incapacity 
to  make  a  sailor,  for  it  was  the  first  intimation  I  heard  of 
his  intention.  I  had  remarked  a  certain  want  of  energy,  in 
various  situations  that  required  action,  in  Rupert,  but  no 
want  of  courage ;  and  I  had  ascribed  some  portion  of  his 
lassitude  to  the  change  of  condition,  and,  possibly,  of  food  ; 
for,  after  all,  that  godlike  creature,  man,  is  nothing  but  an 
animal,  and  is  just  as  much  influenced  by  his  stomach  and 
digestion  as  a  sheep,  or  a  horse. 

Mr.  Hardinge  received  his  son's  intimation  of  a  preference 
of  intellectual  labours  to  a  more  physical  state  of  existence, 
with  a  gratification  my  own  wishes  did  not  afford  him. 
Still,  he  made  no  particular  remark  to  either  at  the  time, 
permitting  us  both  to  enjoy  our  return  to  Clawbonny,  with 
out  any  of  the  drawbacks  of  advice  or  lectures.  The  evening 
passed  delightfully,  the  girls  beginning  to  laugh  heartily  at 
our  own  ludicrous  accounts  of  the  mode  of  living  on  board 
ship,  and  of  our  various  scenes  in  China,  the  Isle  of  Bourbon, 
and  elsewhere.  Rupert  had  a  great  deal  of  humour,  and  a 
very  dry  way  of  exhibiting  it ;  in  short,  he  was  almost  a 
genius  in  the  mere  superficialities  of  life ;  and  even"  Grace 
rewarded  his  efforts  to  entertain  us,  with  laughter  to  tears. 
Neb  was  introduced  after  supper,  and  the  fellow  was  both 
censured  and  commended;  censured  for  having  abandoned 
the  household  gods,  and  commended  for  not  having  deserted 
their  master.  His  droll  descriptions  of  the  Chinese,  their 
dress,  pigtails,  shoes  and  broken  English,  diverted  even  Mr. 
Hardinge,  who,  I  believe,  felt  as  much  like  a  boy  on  this 
occasion,  as  any  of  the  party.  A  happier  evening  than  that 
which  followed  in  the  little  tea-parlour,  as  my  dear  mother 
used  to  call  it,  was  never  passed  in  the  century  that  the  roof 
had  covered  the  old  walls  of  Clawbonny. 
10 


110  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

Next  day  I  had  a  private  conversation  with  my  guardian, 
who  commenced  the  discourse  by  rendering  a  sort  of  ac 
count  of  the  proceeds  of  my  property  during  the  past  year. 
I  listened  respectfully,  and  with  some  interest;  for  I  saw  the 
first  gave  Mr.  Hardioge  great  satisfaction,  and  I  confess  the 
last  afforded  some  little  pleasure  to  myself.  I  found  that 
things  had  gone  on  very  prosperously.  Ready  money  was 
accumulating,  and  I  saw  that,  by  the  time  I  came  of  age, 
sufficient  cash  would  be  on  hand  to  give  me  a  ship  of  my 
own,  should  I  choose  to  purchase  one.  From  that  moment 
I  was  secretly  determined  to  qualify  myself  to  command  her 
in  the  intervening  time.  Little  was  said  of  the  future,  be 
yond  an  expression  of  the  hope,  by  my  guardian,  that  I 
would  take  time  to  reflect  before  I  came  to  a  final  decision 
on  the  subject  of  my  profession.  To  this  I  said  nothing 
beyond  making  a  respectful  inclination  of  the  head. 

For  the  next  month,  Clawbonny  was  a  scene  of  uninter 
rupted  merriment  and  delight.  We  had  few  families  to  visit 
in  our  immediate  neighbourhood,  it  is  true ;  and  Mr.  Har- 
dinge  proposed  an  excursion  to  the  Springs — the  country  was 
then  too  new,  and  the  roads  too  bad,  to  think  of  Niagara — 
but  to  this  I  would  not  listen.  I  cared  not  for  the  Springs — 
knew  little  of,  and  cared  less  for  fashion — and  loved  Claw- 
bonny  to  its  stocks  and  stones.  We  remained  at  home, 
then,  living  principally  for  each  other.  Rupert  read  a  good 
deal  to  the  girls,  under  the  direction  of  his  father ;  while  I 
passed  no  small  portion  of  my  time  in  athletic  exercises. 
The  Grace  &  Lucy  made  one  or  two  tolerably  long  cruises 
in  the  river,  and  at  length  I  conceived  the  idea  of  taking  the 
party  down  to  town  in  the  Wallingford.  Neither  of  the  girls 
had  ever  seen  New  York,  or  much  of  the  Hudson ;  nor  had 
either  ever  seen  a  ship.  The  sloops  that  passed  up  and 
down  the  Hudson,  with  an  occasional  schooner,  were  the 
extent  of  their  acquaintance  with  vessels ;  and  I  began  to 
feel  it  to  be  matter  of  reproach  that  those  in  whom  I  took  so 
deep  an  interest,  should  be  so  ignorant.  As  for  the  girls 
themselves,  they  both  admitted,  now  I  was  a  sailor,  thnt 
their  desire  to  see  a  regular,  three-masted,  full-rigged  ship, 
was  increased  seven-fold. 

M<r.  Hardinge  heard  my  proposition,  at  first,  as  a  piece 
of  pleasantry ;  but  Grace  expressing  a  strong  desire  to  sea 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  HI 

a  large  town,  or  what  was  thought  a  large  town  in  this 
country,  in  1799,  and  Lucy  looking  wistful,  though  she 
remained  silent  under  an  apprehension  her  father  could  not 
afford  the  expense  of  such  a  journey,  which  her  imagination 
rendered  a  great  deal  more  formidable  than  it  actually  proved 
to  be,  the  excellent  divine  finally  acquiesced.  The  expense 
was  disposed  of  in  a  very  simple  manner.  The  journey, 
both  ways,  would  be  made  in  the  Wallingford ;  and  Mr. 
Hardinge  was  not  so  unnecessarily  scrupulous  as  to  re 
fuse  passages  for  himself  and  children  in  the  sloop,  which 
never  exacted  passage-money  from  any  who  went  to  or  from 
the  farm.  Food  was  so  cheap,  too,  as  to  be  a  matter  of  no 
consideration ;  and,  being  entitled  legally  to  receive  that  at 
Clawbonny,  it  made  no  great  difference  whether  it  were  taken 
on  board  the  vessel,  or  in  the  house.  Then  there  was  a 
Mrs.  Bradfort  in  New  York,  a  widow  lady  of  easy  fortune, 
who  was  a  cousin-german  of  Mr.  Hardinge's — his  father's 
sister's  daughter — and  with  her  he  always  staid  in  his  own 
annual  visits  to  attend  the  convention  of  the  Church — I  beg 
pardon,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  as  it  is  now  de 
rigueur  to  say  ;  I  wonder  some  ultra  does  not  introduce  the 
manifest  improvement  into  the  Apostles'  Creed  of  saying, 
"  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Protestant  Episcopal  Catholic  Church, 
&c." — but,  the  excellent  divine,  in  his  annual  attendance  on 
the  convention,  was  accustomed  to  stay  with  his  kinswoman, 
who  often  pressed  him  to  bring  both  Lucy  and  Grace  to  see 
her  ;  her  house  in  Wall  street  being  abundantly  large  enough 
to  accommodate  a  much  more  numerous  party.  "  Yes," 
said  Mr.  Hardinge,  "  that  shall  be  the  arrangement.  The 
girls  and  I  will  stay  with  Mrs.  Bradfort,  and  the  young  men 
can  live  at  a  tavern.  I  dare  say  this  new  City  Hotel,  which 
seems  to  be  large  enough  to  contain  a  regiment,  will  hold 
even  them.  I  will  write  this  very  evening  to  my  cousin,  so 
as  not  to  take  her  by  surprise." 

In  less  than  a  week  after  this  determination,  an  answer 
was  received  from  Mrs.  Bradfort ;  and,  the  very  next  day, 
the  whole  party,  Neb  included,  embarked  in  the  Wallingford. 
Very  different  was  this  passage  down  the  Hudson  from  that 
which  had  preceded  it.  Then  I  had  the  sense  of  error  about 
me,  while  my  heart  yearned  towards  the  two  dear  girls  wo 
had  left  on  the  wharf;  but  now  every  thing  was  above-board 


112  AFLOAT      AKD      ASHORE. 

sincere,  and  by  permission.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  saj 
that  Grace  and  Lucy  were  enchanted  \yith  everything  they 
saw.  The  Highlands,  in  particular,  threw  them  both  into 
ecstasies,  though  I  have  since  seen  so  much  of  the  world  as 
to  understand,  with  nearly  all  experienced  tourists,  that  this 
is  relatively  the  worst  part  of  the  scenery  of  this  beautiful 
river.  When  I  say  relatively,  I  mean  as  comparing  the 
bolder  parts  of  our  stream  with  those  of  others — speaking 
of  them  as  high  lands — many  other  portions  of  this  good 
globe  having  a  much  superior  grandeur,  while  very  few 
have  so  much  lovely  river  scenery  compressed  into  so  small 
a  space  as  is  to  be  found  in  the  other  parts  of  the  Hudson. 

In  due  time  we  arrived  in  New  York,  and  I  had  the 
supreme  happiness  of  pointing  out  to  the  girls  the  State's 
Prison,  the  Bear  Market,  and  the  steeples  of  St.  Paul's  and 
Trinity — old  Trinity,  as  it  was  so  lately  the  fashion  to  style 
a  church  that  was  built  only  a  few  years  before,  and  which, 
in  my  youth,  was  considered  as  magnificent  as  it  was  vene 
rable.  That  building  has  already  disappeared  ;  and  another 
edifice,  which  is  now  termed  splendid,  vast,  and  I  know  not 
what,  has  been  reared  in  its  place.  By  the  time  this  is 
gone,  and  one  or  two  generations  of  buildings  have  succeed 
ed,  each  approaching  nearer  to  the  high  standard  of  church 
architecture  in  the  old  world,  the  Manhattanese  will  get  to 
understand  something  of  the  use  of  the  degrees  of  compari 
son  on  such  subjects.  When  that  day  shall  arrive,  they 
will  cease  to  be  provincial,  and — not  till  then. 

What  a  different  thing  was  Wall  street,  in  1799,  from 
what  it  is  to-day  ?  Then,  where  so  many  Grecian  temples 
are  now  reared  to  Plutus,  were  rows  of  modest  provincial 
dwellings ;  not  a  tittle  more  provincial,  however,  than  the 
thousand  meretricious  houses  of  bricks  and  marble  that 
have  since  started  up  in  their  neighbourhood,  but  far  less 
pretending,  and  insomuch  the  more  creditable.  Mrs.  Brad- 
fort  lived  in  one  of  these  respectable  abodes,  and  thither  Mr. 
Hardinge  led  the  way,  with  just  as  much  confidence  as  one 
would  now  walk  into  Bleeker  street,  or  the  Fifth  Avenue. 
Money-changers  were  then  unknown,  or,  if  known,  were  of 
so  little  account  that  they  had  not  sufficient  force  to  form  a 
colony  and  a  league  by  themselves.  Even  the  banks  did 
not  deem  it  necessary  to  be  within  a  stone's  throw  of  eac'i 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  113 

Other — I  believe  there  were  but  two — as  it  might  be  in  self- 
defence.  We  have  seen  all  sorts  of  expedients  adopted,  in 
this  sainted  street,  to  protect  the  money-bags,  from  the  little 
temple  that  was  intended  to  be  so  small  as  only  to  admit  the 
dollars  and  those  who  were  to  take  care  of  them,  up  to  the 
edifice  that  might  contain  so  many  rogues,  as  to  render 
things  safe  on  the  familiar  principle  of  setting  a  thief  to 
catch  a  thief.  All  would  not  do.  The  difficulty  has  been 
found  to  be  unconquerable,  except  in  those  cases  in  which 
the  homely  and  almost  worn-out  expedient  of  employing 
honest  men,  has  been  resorted  to.  But,  to  return  from  the 
gossipings  of  old  age  to  an  agreeable  widow,  who  was  still 
under  forty. 

Mrs.  Bradfort  received  Mr.  Hardinge  in  a  way  to  satisfy 
us  all  that  she  was  delighted  to  see  him.  She  had  prepared 
a  room  for  Rupert  and  myself,  and  no  apologies  or  excuses 
would  be  received.  We  had  to  consent  to  accept  of  her 
hospitalities.  In  an  hour's  time,  all  were  established,  and  I 
believe  all  were  at  home. 

I  shall  not  dwell  on  the  happiness  that  succeeded.  We 
were  all  too  young  to  go  to  parties,  and,  I  might  almost  add, 
New  York  itself  was  too  young  to  have  any ;  but  in  the 
last  I  should  have  been  mistaken,  though  there  were  not  as 
many  children's  balls  in  1799,  perhaps,  after  allowing  for 
the  difference  in  population,  as  there  are  to-day.  If  too 
young  to  be  company,  we  were  net  too  young  to  see  sights. 
I  sometimes  laugh  as  I  remember  what  these  were  at  thai 
time.  There  was  such  a  museum  as  would  now  be  thought 
lightly  of  in  a  western  city  of  fifteen  or  twenty  years'  growth 
— a  circus  kept  by  a  man  of  the  name  of  Ricketts — the  the 
atre  in  John  street,  a  very  modest  Thespian  edifice — and  a 
lion,  I  mean  literally  the  beast,  that  was  kept  in  a  cage  quite 
out  of  town,  that  his  roaring  might  not  disturb  people,  some 
where  near  the  spot  where  the  triangle  that  is  called  Frank 
lin  Square  now  is.  All  these  we  saw,  even  to  the  theatre ; 
good,  indulgent  Mr.  Hardinge  seeing  no  harm  in  letting  us 
go  thither  under  the  charge  of  Mrs.  Bradfort.  I  shall  never 
forget  the  ecstasy  of  that  night !  The  novelty  was  quite  as 
great  to  Rupert  and  myself  as  it  was  to  the  girls  ;  for,  though 
we  had  been  to  China,  we  had  never  been  to  the  play. 
Well  was  it  said,  "  Vanity,  vanity — all  is  vanity  !"  He 
10* 


114  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

that  lives  as  long  as  I  have  lived,  will  have  seen  most  of  his 
opinions,  and  I  think  I  may  add,  all  his  tastes,  change. 
Nothing  short  of  revelation  has  a  stronger  tendency  to  con 
vince  us  of  the  temporary  character  of  our  probationary 
state  in  this  world,  than  to  note  for  how  short  a  period,  and 
for  what  imperfect  ends,  all  our  hopes  and  success  in  life 
have  been  buoying  us  up,  and  occupying  our  minds.  After 
fifty,  the  delusion  begins  to  give  way ;  and,  though  we  may 
continue  to  live,  and  even  to  be  happy,  blind  indeed  must 
be  he  who  does  not  see  the  end  of  his  road,  and  foresee  some 
of  the  great  results  to  which  it  is  to  lead.  But  of  all  this, 
our  quartette  thought  little  in  the  year  1799. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

"  Thou  art  the  same,  eternal  sea ! 
The  earth  hath  many  shapes  and  forms 
Of  hill  and  valley,  flower  and  tree  ; 
Fields  that  the  fervid  noontide  warms, 
Or  Winter's  rugged  grasp  deforms, 
Or  bright  with  Autumn's  golden  store ; 
Thou  coverest  up  thy  face  with  storms, 
Or  smilest  serene — but  still  thy  roar 
And  dashing  foam  go  up  to  vex  the  sea-beat  shore." 

LUNT. 

I  HAD  a  free  conversation  with  my  guardian,  shortly  after 
we  reached  town,  on  the  subject  of  my  going  to  sea  again. 
The  whole  country  was  alive  with  the  armament  of  the  new 
marine ;  and  cocked-hats,  blue  coats  and  white  lapels,  began 
to  appear  in  the  streets,  with  a  parade  that  always  marks 
the  new  officer  and  the  new  service.  Now,  one  meets  dis 
tinguished  naval  men  at  every  turn,  and  sees  nothing  about 
their  persons  to  denote  the  profession,  unless  in  actual  em 
ployment  afloat,  even  the  cockade  being  laid  aside  ;  whereas 
in  1799  the  harness  was  put  on  as  soon  as  the  parchment 
was  received,  and  only  laid  aside  to  turn  in.  Ships  wero 
building  or  equipping  in  all  parts  of  the  country  ;  and  it  is 
matter  of  surprise  to  me  that  I  escaped  the  fever,  and  did 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  115 

not  apply  to  be  made  a  midshipman.  Had  I  seen  another 
captain  who  interested  me  as  much  as  Captain  Dale,  I  make 
no  doubt  my  career  would  have  been  quite  different :  but, 
as  things  were,  I  had  imbibed  the  prejudice  that  Southey, 
in  his  very  interesting,  but,  in  a  professional  sense,  very 
worthless,  life  of  Nelson,  has  attributed  to  that  hero — "  aft, 
the  more  honour ;  forward,  the  better  man."  Thus  far,  I 
had  not  got  into  the  cabin-windows,  and,  like  all  youngsters 
who  fairly  begin  on  the  forecastle,  felt  proud  of  my  own 
manhood  and  disdain  of  hazards  and  toil.  I  determined, 
therefore,  to  pursue  the  course  I  had  originally  pointed  out 
to  myself,  and  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  my  father. 

Privateers  were  out  of  the  question  in  a  war  with  a  coun 
try  that  had  no  commerce.  Nor  do  I  think  I  would  have 
gone  in  a  privateer  under  any  circumstances.  The  business 
of  carrying  on  a  warfare  merely  for  gain,  has  ever  struck 
me  as  discreditable ;  though  it  must  be  admitted  the  Ameri 
can  system  of  private-armed  cruisers  has  always  been  more 
respectable  and  better  conducted  than  that  of  most  other 
nations.  This  has  been  owing  to  the  circumstance  that  men 
of  a  higher  class  than  is  usual  in  Europe,  have  embarked 
in  the  enterprises.  To  a  letter-of-marque,  however,  there 
could  be  no  objection ;  her  regular  business  is  commerce  ; 
she  arms  only  in  self-defence,  or,  if  she  capture  anything,  it 
is  merely  such  enemies  as  cross  her  path,  and  who  would 
capture  her  if  they  could.  I  announced  to  Mr.  Hardinge, 
therefore,  my  determination  not  to  return  to  Clawbonny,  but 
to  look  for  a  berth  in  some  letter-of-marque,  while  then  in 
town. 

Neb  had  received  private  instructions,  and  my  sea  dun 
nage,  as  well  as  his  own,  was  on  board  the  Wallingford — 
low  enough  the  wreck  had  reduced  both  to  be — and  money 
obtained  from  Mr.  Hardinge  was  used  to  purchase  more. 
I  now  began  to  look  about  me  for  a  ship,  determined  to 
please  my  eye  as  to  the  vessel,  and  my  judgment  as  to  the 
voyage.  Neb  had  orders  to  follow  the  wharves  on  the  same 
errand.  I  would  sooner  trust  Neb  than  Rupert  on  such  a 
duty.  The  latter  had  no  taste  for  ships  ;  felt  no  interest  in 
them  ;  and  I  have  often  wondered  why  he  took  a  fancy  to 
go  to  sea  at  all.  With  Neb  it  was  very  different.  He  was 
nlready  an  expert  seaman  ;  could  hand,  reef  and  steer,  knot 


116  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

and  splice,  and  was  as  useful  as  nine  men  in  ten  on  board  4 
vessel.  It  is  true,  he  did  not  know  when  it  became  neces 
sary  to  take  in  the  last  reef — had  no  notion  of  stowing  a 
cargo  so  as  to  favour  the  vessel,  or  help  her  sailing ;  but  he 
would  break  out  a  cask  sooner  than  most  men  1  ever  met 
with.  There  was  too  much  "  nigger"  in  him  for  head-work 
of  that  sort,  though  he  was  ingenious  and  ready  enough  in 
his  way.  A  sterling  fellow  was  Neb,  and  I  got  in  time  to 
love  him  very  much  as  I  can  conceive  one  would  love  a 
brother. 

One  day,  after  I  hdd  seen  all  the  sights,  and  had  begun 
to  think  seriously  of  finding  a  ship,  I  was  strolling  along  the 
wharves  on  the  latter  errand,  when  I  heard  a  voice  I  knew 
cry  out,  "  There,  Captain  Williams,  there 's  just  your  chap ; 
he'll  make  as  good  a  third-mate  as  can  be  found  in  all 
America."  I  had  a  sort  of  presentiment  this  applied  to  me, 
though  I  could  not,  on  the  instant,  recall  the  speaker's  name. 
Turning  to  look  in  the  direction  of  the  sounds,  I  saw  the 
hard  countenance  of  Marble,  alongside  the  weather-beaten 
face  of  a  middle-aged  shipmaster,  both  of  whom  were  exa 
mining  me  over  the  nettings  rf  a  very  promising-looking 
armed  merchantman.  I  bowed  to  Mr.  Marble,  who  beck 
oned  me  to  com?  on  board,  where  I  was  regularly  introduced 
to  the  master. 

This  vessel  was  called  the  Crisis,  a  very  capital  name  for 
a  craft  in  a  country  where  crisises  of  one  sort  or  another 
occur  regularly  as  often  as  once  in  six  months.  She  was  a 
tight  little  ship  of  about  four  hundred  tons,  had  hoop-pole 
bulwarks,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  with  nettings  for  ham 
mocks  and  old  junk,  principally  the  latter ;  and  showed  ten 
nine-pounders,  carriage-guns,  in  her  batteries.  I  saw  she 
was  loaded,  and  was  soon  given  to  understand  that  her  ship 
ping-articles  were  then  open,  and  the  serious  question  wag 
of  procuring  a  third-mate.  Officers  were  scarce,  so  many 
young  men  were  pressing  into  the  navy ;  and  Mr.  Marble 
ventured  to  recommend  me,  from  near  a  twelvemonth's 
knowledge  of  my  character.  I  had  not  anticipated  a  berth 
aft  quite  so  soon,  and  yet  I  had  a  humble  confidence  in  my 
own  ability  to  discharge  the  duty.  Captain  Williams  ques 
tioned  me  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  had  a  short  conver 
sation  with  Mr.  Marble  alone,  and  then  frankly  offered  me 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  117 

he  berth.  The  voyage  was  to  be  round  the  world,  and  it 
took  my  fancy  at  the  very  sound.  The  ship  was  to  take  a 
cargo  of  flour  to  England  ;  there,  she  was  to  receive  a  small 
assorted  cargo  for  the  North-West  Coast,  and  some  of  the 
sandal-wood  islands;  after  disposing  of  her  toys  and  manu 
factures  in  barter,  she  was  to  sail  for  Canton,  exchange  her 
furs,  wood  and  other  articles  for  teas,  &c.,  and  return  home. 
To  engage  in  this  voyage,  I  was  offered  the  berth  I  have 
mentioned,  and  thirty  dollars  a-month.  The  wages  were 
of  little  moment  to  me,  but  the  promotion  and  the  voyage 
were  of  great  account.  The  ship,  too,  carried  out  letters-of- 
marque  and  reprisal  with  her,  and  there  were  the  chances 
of  meeting  some  Frenchman  in  the  European  waters,  at 
least. 

I  examined  the  vessel,  the  berth  I  was  to  occupy,  made  a 
great  many  shy  glances  at  the  captain,  to  ascertain  his  cha 
racter  by  that  profound  expedient,  analyzing  his  looks,  and 
finally  determined  to  ship,  on  condition  Neb  should  be  taken 
as  an  ordinary  seaman.  As  soon  as  Marble  heard  this  last 
proposal,  he  explained  the  relation  in  which  the  black  stood 
to  me,  and  earnestly  advised  his  being  received  as  a  seaman. 
The  arrangement  was  made  accordingly,  and  I  went  at  once 
to  the  notary  and  signed  the  articles.  Neb  was  also  found, 
and  he  was  shipped  too ;  this  time  regularly,  Mr.  Hardinge 
attending  and  giving  his  sanction  to  what  was  done.  The 
worthy  divine  was  in  excellent  spirits,  for  that  very  day  he 
had  made  an  arrangement  with  a  friend  at  the  bar  to  place 
Rupert  in  his  office,  Mrs.  Bradfort  insisting  on  keeping  her 
young  kinsman  in  her  house,  as  a  regular  inmate.  This 
left  on  the  father  no  more  charge  than  to  furnish  Rupert 
with  clothes,  and  a  few  dollars  of  pocket-money.  But  I 
knew  Rupert  too  well  to  suppose  he  would,  or  could,  be  con 
tent  with  the  little  he  might  expect  from  the  savings  of  Mr. 
Hardinge.  I  was  not  in  want  of  money.  My  guardian  had 
supplied  me  so  amply,  that  not  only  had  I  paid  my  debt  to 
the  owners  of  the  John,  and  fully  equipped  myself  for  the 
voyage,  but  I  actually  possessed  dollars  enough  to  supply 
all  my  probable  wants  during  the  expected  absence.  Many 
of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Crisis  left  behind  them  orders 
with  their  wives  and  families  to  receive  their  wages,  in  part, 
during  their  absence,  as  letters  from  time  to  time  apprised 


118  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

the  owners  that  these  people  were  on  board,  and  in  discharge 
of  their  several  duties.  I  determined  on  giving  Rupert  the 
benefit  of  such  an  arrangement.  First  presenting  him  with 
twenty  dollars  from  my  own  little  store,  I  took  him  with  mo 
to  the  counting-house,  and  succeeded,  though  not  without 
some  difficulty,  in  obtaining  for  my  friend  a  credit  of  twenty 
dollars  a-month,  promising  faithfully  to  repay  any  balance 
that  might  arise  against  me  in  consequence  of  the  loss  of  the 
ship,  or  of  any  accident  to  myself.  This  I  was  enabled  to 
do  on  the  strength  of  my  credit  as  the  owner  of  Clawbonny  ; 
for,  as  is  usual  in  these  cases,  I  passed  for  being  much  richer 
than  I  really  was,  though  far  from  being  poor. 

I  will  acknowledge  that,  while  I  felt  no  reluctance  at 
making  this  arrangement  in  favour  of  Rupert,  I  felt  mor 
tified  he  should  accept  it.  There  are  certain  acts  we  may 
all  wish  to  perform,  and,  yet,  which  bring  regrets  when  suc 
cessfully  performed.  I  was  sorry  that  my  friend,  Lucy's 
brother,  Grace's  admirer — for  I  was  quick  enough  in  per 
ceiving  that  Rupert  began  to  entertain  fancies  of  that  sort — 
had  not  pride  enough  to  cause  him  to  decline  receiving 
money  which  must  be  earned  by  the  sweat  of  my  brow,  and 
this,  moreover,  in  a  mode  of  life  he  had  not  himself  sufficient 
resolution  to  encounter  a  second  time.  But  he  accepted  the 
offer,  and  there  was  an  end  of  it. 

As  everything  was  alive  in  1798,  the  Crisis  was  ready  to 
sail  in  three  days  after  I  joined  her.  We  hauled  into  the 
North  river,  as  became  the  dignity  of  our  voyage,  and  got 
our  crew  on  board.  On  the  whole,  we  mustered  a  pretty 
good  body  of  men,  ten  of  them  being  green  ;  fellows  who 
had  never  seen  the  ocean,  but  who  were  young,  healthy  and 
athletic,  and  who  promised  to  be  useful  before  a  great  while. 
Including  those  aft,  we  counted  thirty-eight  souls  on  board. 
The  ship  was  got  ready  in  hopes  of  being  able  to  sail  of  a 
Thursday,  for  Captain  Williams  was  a  thoughtful  man,  and 
was  anxious  to  get  the  ship  fairly  at  sea,  with  the  first  work 
done,  previously  to  the  next  Sabbath.  Some  small  matters, 
however,  could  not  be  got  through  with  in  time ;  and,  as  for 
sailing  of  a  Friday,  that  was  out  of  the  question.  No  one 
did  that,  in  1798,  who  could  help  it.  This  gave  us  a  holi 
day,  and  I  got  leave  to  pass  the  afternoon  and  evening 
ashore. 


AFLOAT     AND     AS  II  OR  K.  119 

Rupert,  Grace,  Lucy  and  I  took  a  long  walk  into  tho 
country  that  evening ;  that  is,  we  went  into  the  fields,  and 
along  the  lanes,  for  some  distance  above  the  present  site  of 
Canal  street.  Lucy  and  I  walked  together,  most  of  the 
time,  and  we  both  felt  sad  at  the  idea  of  so  long  a  separation 
as  was  now  before  us.  The  voyage  might  last  three  years ; 
and  1  should  be  legally  a  man,  my  own  master,  and  Lucy  a 
young  woman  of  near  nineteen,  by  that  time.  Terrible  ages 
in  perspective  were  these,  and  which  seemed  to  us  pregnant 
with  as  many  changes  as  the  life  of  a  man. 

"  Rupert  will  be  admitted  to  the  bar,  when  I  get  back,"  I 
casually  remarked,  as  we  talked  the  matter  over. 

"  He  will,  indeed,"  the  dear  girl  answered.  "  Now  you 
are  to  go,  Miles,  I  almost  regret  my  brother  is  not  to  be  in 
the  ship ;  you  have  known  each  other  so  long,  love  each 
other  so  much,  and  have  already  gone  through  such  frightful 
trials  in  company." 

"  Oh  !  I  shall  do  well  enough — there  '11  be  Neb ;  and  as 
for  Rupert,  I  think  he  will  be  better  satisfied  ashore  than  at 
sea.  Rupert  is  a  sort  of  a  natural  lawyer." 

By  this  I  merely  meant  he  was  good  at  a  subterfuge,  and 
could  tell  his  own  story. 

"  Yes,  but  Neb  is  not  Rupert,  Miles,"  Lucy  answered, 
quick  as  thought,  and,  I  fancied,  a  little  reproachfully. 

"  Very  true — no  doubt  I  shall  miss  your  brother,  and  that, 
too,  very  much,  at  times ;  but  all  I  meant  in  speaking  of 
Neb  was,  as  you  know,  that  he  and  I  like  each  other,  too, 
and  have  been  through  just  the  same  trials  together,  you 
understand,  and  have  known  each  other  as  long  as  I  can 
remember." 

Lucy  was  silent,  and  I  felt  embarrassed,  and  a  little  at  a 
loss  what  to  say  next.  But  a  girl  approaching  sixteen,  and 
who  is  with  a  youth  who  possesses  her  entire  confidence,  is 
not  apt  to  be  long  silent.  Something  she  will  say  ;  and  how 
often  is  that  something  warm  with  natural  feeling,  instinct 
with  truth,  and  touching  from  its  confiding  simplicity ! 

"You  will  sometimes  think  of  us,  Miles?"  was  Lucy's 
next  remark,  and  it  was  said  in  a  tone  that  induced  me  to 
look  her  full  in  the  face,  when  I  discovered  that  her  eyes 
were  suffused  with  tears. 

"  Of  that  you  may  be  very  certain,  and  I  hope  to  be  re- 


120  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

warded  in  kind.  But,  now  I  think  of  it,  Lucy,  I  have  a  debt 
to  pay  you,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  little  interest.  Here 
are  the  half-joes  you  forced  me  to  take  last  year,  when  we 
parted  at  Clawbonny.  See,  they  are  exactly  the  same 
pieces ;  for  I  would  as  soon  have  parted  with  a  finger,  as 
with  one  of  them." 

"  I  had  hoped  they  might  have  been  of  use  t«  you,  and 
had  quite  forgotten  them.  You  have  destroyed  an  agreeable 
illusion." 

"  Is  it  not  quite  as  agreeable  to  know  we  had  no  occasion 
for  them  1  No,  here  they  are ;  and,  now  I  go  with  Mr. 
Hardinge's  full  approbation,  you  very  well  know  I  can  be 
in  no  want  of  money.  So,  there  is  your  gold ;  and  here, 
Lucy,  is  some  interest  for  the  use  of  it." 

I  made  an  effort  to  put  sometHng  into  the  dear  girl's  hand 
as  I  spoke,  but  all  the  strength  I  could  properly  apply  was 
not  equal  to  the  purpose.  So  tightly  did  she  keep  her  little 
fingers  compressed,  that  I  could  not  succeed  without  a  down 
right  effort  at  force. 

"  No— no — Miles,"  she  said  hurriedly — almost  huskily; 
"  that  will  never  do  !  I  am  not  Rupert — you  may  prevail 
with  him ;  never  with  me  /" 

"  Rupert !  What  can  Rupert  have  to  do  with  such  a 
thing  as  this  locket  1  Youngsters  don't  wear  lockets." 

Lucy's  fingers  separated  as  easily  as  an  infant's,  and  I 
put  my  little  offering  into  her  hand  without  any  more  resist 
ance.  I  was  sorry,  however,  to  discover  that,  by  some 
means  unknown  to  me,  she  had  become  acquainted  with  the 
arrangement  I  had  made  as  respected  the  twenty  dollars  a 
month.  I  afterwards  ascertained  that  this  secret  had  leaked 
out  through  Neb,  who  had  it  from  one  of  the  clerks  of  the 
counting-house  who  had  visited  the  ship,  and  repeated  it  to 
Mrs.  Bradfort's  black  maid,  in  one  of  his  frequent  visits  to 
the  house.  This  is  a  common  channel  of  information, 
though  it  seldom  proves  as  true  as  it  did  in  this  instance. 

I  could  see  that  Lucy  was  delighted  with  her  locket.  It 
was  a  very  pretty  ornament,  in  the  first  place,  and  it  had 
her  own  hair,  that  of  Grace,  Rupert,  and  my  own,  very 
prettily  braided  together,  so  as  to  form  a  wreath,  made  liko 
a  rope,  or  a  grummet,  encircling  a  combination  of  letters 
that  included  all  our  initials.  In  this  there  was  nothing  th.it 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORB.  121 

was  particular,  while  there  was  much  that  was  affectionate. 
Had  I  not  consulted  Grace  on  the  subject,  it  is  possible  I 
should  have  been  less  cautious,  though  I  declare  I  had  no 
thought  of  making  love.  All  this  time  I  fancied  I  felt  for, 
and  trusted  Lucy  as  another  sister.  I  was  shrewd  enough 
to  detect  Rupert's  manner  and  feeling  towards  my  own 
sister,  and  I  felt  afraid  it  was,  or  soon  would  be,  fully  recip 
rocated  ;  but  as  to  imagining  myself  in  love  with  Lucy 
Hardinge,  or  any  one  else,  the  thought  never  crossed  my 
mind,  though  the  dear  girl  herself  so  often  did  ! 

I  saw  Lucy's  smile,  and  I  could  not  avoid  noticing  the 
manner  in  which,  once  or  twice,  unconsciously  to  herself,  I 
do  believe,  this  simple-minded,  sincere  creature,  pressed  the 
hand  which  retained  the  locket  to  her  heart ;  and  yet  it  made 
no  very  lively  impression  on  my  imagination  at  the  time. 
The  conversation  soon  changed,  and  we  began  to  converse 
of  other  things.  I  have  since  fancied  that  Grace  had  left 
us  alone  in  order  that  I  might  return  the  half-joes  to  Lucy, 
and  offer  the  locket ;  for,  looking  round  and  seeing  the  latter 
in  its  new  owner's  hand,  while  Lucy^was  bestowing  on  it 
one  of  the  hundred  glances  of  grateful  pleasure  it  received 
that  afternoon,  she  waited  until  we  came  up,  when  she  took 
my  arm,  remarking,  as  this  was  to  be  our  last  evening  toge 
ther,  she  must  come  in  for  her  share  of  the  conversation. 
Now,  I  solemnly  affirm  that  this  was  the  nearest  approach 
to  anything  like  a  love-scene  that  had  ever  passed  between 
Lucy  Hardinge  and  myself. 

I  would  gladly  pass  over  the  leave-taking,  and  shall  say 
but  little  about  it.  Mr.  Hardinge  called  me  into  his  room, 
when  we  got  back  to  the  house.  He  spoke  earnestly  and 
solemnly  to  me,  recalling  to  my  mind  many  of  his  early  and 
more  useful  precepts.  He  then  kissed  me,  gave  me  his 
blessing,  and  promised  to  remember  me  in  his  prayers.  As 
I  left  him,  and  I  believe  he  went  on  his  knees  as  soon  as  my 
back  was  turned,  Lucy  was  waiting  for  me  in  the  passage. 
She  was  in  tears,  and  paler  than  common,  but  her  mind 
seemed  made  up  to  sustain  a  great  sacrifice  like  a  woman. 
She  put  a  small,  but  exceedingly  neat  copy  of  the  Bible  into 
my  hand,  and  uttered,  as  well  as  emotion  would  permit — 
"  There,  Miles ;  that  is  my  keepsake.  I  do  not  ask  you  to 
think  of  me  when  you  read  ;  but  think  of  God"  She  then 
11 


122  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

snatched  a  kiss,  and  flew  into  her  room  and  locked  the  doo**, 
Grace  was  below,  and  she  wept  on  my  neck  like  a  child, 
kissing  me  again  and  again,  and  calling  me  "  her  brother — 
her  dear,  her  only  brother."  I  was  obliged  actually  to  tear 
myself  away  from  Grace.  Rupert  went  with  me  to  the 
ship,  and  passed  an  hour  or  two  on  board.  As  we  crossed 
the  threshold,  I  heard  a  window  open  above  my  head,  and, 
looking  up,  I  saw  Lucy,  with  streaming  eyes,  leaning  forward 
to  say,  "  Write,  Miles — write  as  often  as  you  possibly  can." 

Man  must  be  a  stern  being  by  nature,  to  be  able  to  tear 
himself  from  such  friends,  in  order  to  encounter  enemies, 
hardships,  dangers  and  toil,  and  all  without  any  risible  mo 
tive.  Such  was  my  case,  however,  for  I  wanted  not  for  a 
competency,  or  for  most  of  those  advantages  which  might 
tempt  one  to  abandon  the  voyage.  Of  such  a  measure,  the 
possibility  never  crossed  my  mind.  I  believed  that  it  was 
just  as  necessary  for  me  to  remain  third-mate  of  the  Crisis, 
and  to  stick  by  the  ship  while  she  would  float,  as  Mr.  Adams 
thinks  it  necessary  for  him  to  present  abolition  petitions  to  a 
congress,  which  will  not  receive  them.  We  both  of  us, 
doubtless,  believed  ourselves  the  victims  of  fate. 

We  sailed  at  sun-rise,  wind  and  tide  favouring.  We  had 
anchored  off  Courtlandt  street,  and  as  the  ship  swept  past 
the  Battery  I  saw  Rupert,  who  had  only  gone  ashore  in  the 
pilot's  boat  at  day-light,  with  two  females,  watching  our 
movements.  The  girls  did  not  dare  to  wave  their  handker 
chiefs  ;  but  what  cared  I  for  that — I  knew  that  their  good 
wishes,  kind  wishes,  tender  wishes,  went  with  me ;  and  this 
little  touch  of  affection,  which  woman  knows  so  well  how  to 
manifest,  made  me  both  happy  and  sad  for  the  remainder  of 
the  day. 

The  Crisis  was  an  unusually  fast  ship,  faster  even  than 
the  Tigris  ;  coppered  to  the  bends,  copper-fastened,  and  with 
a  live-oak  frame.  No  better  craft  sailed  out  of  the  republic. 
Uncle  Sam  had  tried  to  purchase  her  for  one  of  his  new 
navy ;  but  the  owners,  having  this  voyage  in  view,  refused 
his  tempting  offers.  She  was  no  sooner  under  her  canvass, 
than  all  hands  of  us  perceived  we  were  in  a  traveller;  and 
glad  enough  were  we  to  be  certain  of  the  fact,  for  we  had  a 
long  road  before  us.  This,  too,  was  with  the  wind  free,  and 
iu  smooth  water ;  whereas  those  who  knew  the  vessel  aa- 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  123 

serted  her  forte  was  on  a  bowline  and  in  a  sea — that  is  to 
pay,  she  would  sail  relatively  faster  than  most  other  craft, 
under  the  latter  circumstances. 

There  was  a  strange  pleasure  to  me,  notwithstanding  all 
I  had  suffered  previously,  all  the  risks  I  had  run,  and  all  I 
had  left  behind  me,  in  finding  myself  once  more  on  the  broad 
ocean.  As  for  Neb,  the  fellow  was  fairly  enraptured.  So 
quickly  and  intelligently  did  he  obey  his  orders,  that  he  won 
a  reputation  before  we  crossed  the  bar.  The  smell  of  the 
ocean  seemed  to  imbue  him  with  a  species  of  nautical  inspi 
ration,  and  even  I  was  astonished  with  his  readiness  and 
activity.  As  for  myself,  I  was  every  way  at  home.  Very 
different  was  this  exit  from  the  port,  from  that  of  the  pre 
vious  year.  Then  everything  was  novel,  and  not  a  little 
disgusting.  Now  I  had  little,  almost  nothing,  to  learn- 
literally  nothing,  I  might  have  said,  were  it  not  that  every 
ship-master  has  certain  ways  of  his  own,  that  it  behooves  all 
his  subordinates  to  learn  as  quickly  as  possible.  Then  I 
lived  aft,  where  we  not  only  had  plates,  and  table-cloths,  and 
tumblers,  and  knives  and  forks ;  but  comparatively  clean 
articles  of  the  sort.  I  say  comparatively,  the  two  other 
degrees  being  usually  wanting  in  north-west  traders. 

The  Crisis  went  to  sea  with  a  lively  breeze  at  south-west, 
the  wind  shifting  after  she  had  got  into  the  lower  bay.  There 
were  a  dozen  sail  of  us  altogether,  and  in  our  little  fleet  were 
two  of  Uncle  Sam's  men,  who  felt  disposed  to  try  their  hands 
with  us.  We  crossed  the  bar,  all  three  of  us,  within  a  cable's 
length  of  each  other,  and  made  sail  in  company,  with  the 
wind  a  trifle  abaft  the  beam.  Just  as  Navesink  disappeared, 
our  two  men-of-war,  merchantmen  altered,  hauled  up  on 
bowlines,  and  jogged  off  towards  the  West  Indies,  being  at 
the  time  about  a  league  astern  of  us.  This  success  put  us 
all  in  high  good-humour,  and  had  such  an  effect  on  Marble 
in  particular,  that  he  began  to  give  it  as  his  opinion  that  our 
only  superiority  over  them  would  not  be  found  confined  to 
sailing,  on  an  experiment.  It  is  very  convenient  to  think 
favourably  of  one's  self,  and  it  is  certainly  comfortable  to 
entertain  the  same  notion  as  respects  one's  ship. 

I  confess  to  a  little  awkwardness  at  first,  in  acting  as  an 
officer.  I  was  young,  and  commanded  men  old  enough  to 
be  my  father — regular  sea-dogs,  who  were  as  critical  in  all 


124  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

that  related  to  the  niceties  of  the  calling,  as  the  journalist 
who  is  unable  to  appreciate  the  higher  qualities  of  a  book,  is 
hypercritical  on  its  minor  faults.  But  a  few  days  gave  me 
confidence,  and  I  soon  found  I  was  obeyed  as  readily  as  the 
first-mate.  A  squall  struck  the  ship  in  my  watch,  about  a 
fortnight  out,  and  I  succeeded  in  getting  in  sail,  and  saving 
everything,  canvass  and  spars,  in  a  way  that  did  me  infinite 
service  aft.  Captain  Williams  spoke  to  me  on  the  subject, 
commending  the  orders  I  had  given,  and  the  coolness  with 
which  they  had  been  issued ;  for,  as  I  afterwards  under 
stood,  he  remained  some  time  in  the  companion-way,  keep 
ing  the  other  two  mates  back,  though  all  hands  had  been 
called,  in  order  to  see  how  I  could  get  along  by  myself  in 
such  a  strait.  On  this  occasion,  I  never  saw  a  human  being 
exert  himself  like  Neb.  He  felt  that  my  honour  was  con 
cerned.  I  do  really  think  the  fellow  did  two  men's  duty, 
the  whole  time  the  squall  lasted.  Until  this  little  incident 
occurred,  Captain  Williams  was  in  the  habit  of  coming  on 
deck  to  examine  the  heavens,  and  see  how  things  were  get 
ting  on,  in  my  night-watches ;  but,  after  this,  he  paid  no 
more  visits  of  this  sort  to  me,  than  he  paid  to  Mr.  Marble. 
I  had  been  gratified  by  his  praises ;  but  this  quiet  mode  of 
showing  confidence,  gave  me  more  happiness  than  I  can 
express. 

We  had  a  long  passage  out,  the  wind  hanging  to  the  east 
ward  near  three  weeks.  At  length  we  got  moderate  south 
erly  breezes,  and  began  to  travel  on  our  course.  Twenty- 
four  hours  after  we  had  got  the  fair  wind,  I  had  the  morning 
watch,  and  made,  as  the  day  dawned,  a  sail  directly  abeam 
of  us,  to  windward,  about  three  leagues  distant,  or  just  hull 
down.  I  went  into  the  main-top,  and  examined  her  with  a 
glass.  She  was  a  ship,  seemingly  of  about  our  own  size, 
and  carrying  everything  that  would  draw.  I  did  not  send 
word"below  until  it  was  broad  daylight,  or  for  near  half  an 
hour ;  and  in  all  that  time  her  bearings  did  not  vary  any 
perceptible  distance. 

Just  as  the  sun  rose,  the  captain  and  chief-mate  made  their 
appearance  on  deck.  At  first  they  agreed  in  supposing  the 
stranger  a  stray  English  West-Indiaman,  bound  home  ;  for, 
at  that  time,  few  merchant  vessels  were  met  at  sea  that  were 
not  English,  or  American.  The  former  usually  sailed  in 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  125 

convoys,  however;  and  the  captain  accounted  for  the  cir 
cumstance  that  this  was  not  thus  protected,  by  the  fact  of 
her  sailing  so  fast.  She  might  be  a  letter-of-marque,  like 
ourselves,  and  vessels  of  that  character  did  not  take  convoy. 
As  the  two  vessels  lay  exactly  abeam  of  each  other,  with 
square  yards,  it  was  not  easy  to  judge  of  the  sparring  of  the 
stranger,  except  by  means  of  his  masts.  Marble,  judging 
by  the  appearance  of  his  topsails,  began  to  think  our  neigh 
bour  might  IDC  a  Frenchman,  he  had  so  much  hoist  to  the 
sails.  After  some  conversation  on  the  subject,  the  captain 
ordered  me  to  brace  forward  the  yards,  as  far  as  our  stud 
ding-sails  would  allow,  and  to  luff  nearer  to  the  stranger. 
While  the  ship  was  thus  changing  her  course,  the  day  ad 
vanced,  and  our  crew  got  their  breakfast. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  the  strange  ship,  which  kept  on  the 
same  line  of  sailing  as  before,  drew  ahead  of  us  a  little,  while 
we  neared  her  sensibly.  In  the  course  of  three  hours  we 
were  within  a  league  of  her,  but  well  on  her  lee-quarter. 
Marble  now  unhesitatingly  pronounced  her  to  be  a  French 
man,  there  being  no  such  thing  as  mistaking  the  sails.  To 
suppose  an  Englishman  would  go  to  sea  witn  such  triangles 
of  royals,  he  held  to  be  entirely  out  of  the  question ;  and 
then  he  referred  to  me  to  know  if  I  did  not  remember  the 
brig  "  we  had  licked  in  the  West  Indies,  last  v'y'ge,  which 
had  just  such  r'yals  as  the  chap  up  there  to  windward  ?"  I 
could  see  the  resemblance,  certainly,  and  had  remarked  the 
same  peculiarity  in  the  few  French  vessels  I  had  seen. 

Under  all  the  circumstances,  Captain  Williams  determined 
to  get  on  the  weather-quarter  of  our  neighbour,  and  take  a 
still  nearer  look  at  him.  That  he  was  armed,  we  could  see 
already ;  and,  as  near  as  we  could  make  out,  he  carried 
twelve  guns,  or  just  two  more  than  we  did  ourselves.  All 
this  was  encouraging ;  sufficiently  so,  at  least,  to  induce  us 
to  make  a  much  closer  examination  than  we  had  yet  done. 

It  took  two  more  hours  to  bring  the  Crisis,  fast  as  she 
sailed,  on  the  weather-quarter  of  her  neighbour,  distant 
about  a  mile.  Here  our  observations  were  much  more  to 
the  purpose,  and  even  Captain  Williams  pronounced  tho 
stranger  to  be  a  Frenchman,  "  and,  no  doubt,  a  letter-of- 
marque,  like  ourselves."  He  had  just  uttered  these  words, 
when  we  saw  the  other  vessel's  studding-sails  coming  down 
11* 


126  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE, 

her  royals  and  top-gallant-sails  clewing  up,  and  all  the  usual 
signs  of  her  stripping  for  a  fight.  We  had  set  our  ensign 
early  in  the  day,  but,  as  yet,  had  got  no  answering  symbol 
of  nationality  from  the  chase.  As  soon  as  she  had  taken  in 
all  her  light  canvass,  however,  she  clewed  up  her  courses, 
fired  a  gun  to  windward,  and  hoisted  the  French  tri-color, 
the  most  graceful  flag  among  the  emblems  of  Christendom, 
but  one  that  has  been  as  remarkably  unsuccessful  in  the 
deeds  it  has  witnessed  on  the  high  seas,  as  it  has  been 
remarkable  for  the  reverse  on  land.  The  French  have  not 
been  wanting  in  excellent  sailors — gallant  seamen,  too  ;  but 
the  results  of  their  exploits  afloat  have  ever  borne  a  singular 
disproportion  to  the  means  employed  —  a  few  occasional 
exceptions  just  going  to  prove  that  the  causes  have  been  of 
a  character  as  peculiar,  as  these  results  have,  in  nearly  all 
ages,  been  uniform.  I  have  heard  the  want  of  success  in 
maritime  exploits,  among  the  French,  attributed  to  a  want 
of  sympathy,  in  the  nation,  with  maritime  things.  Others, 
again,  have  supposed  that  the  narrow  system  of  preferring 
birth  to  merit,  which  pervaded  the  whole  economy  of  the 
French  marine,  as  well  as  of  its  army,  previously  to  the 
revolution,  could  not  fail  to  destroy  the  former,  inasmuch  as 
a  man  of  family  would  not  consent  to  undergo  the  toil  and 
hardships  that  are  unavoidable  to  the  training  of  the  true 
seaman.  This  last  reason,  however,  can  scarcely  be  the 
true  one,  as  the  young  English  noble  has  often  made  the 
most  successful  naval  officer;  and  the  marine  of  France,  in 
1798,  had  surely  every  opportunity  of  perfecting  itself,  by 
downright  practice,  uninjured  by  favouritism,  as  that  of 
America.  For  myself,  though  I  have  now  reflected  on  the 
subject  for  years,  I  can  come  to  no  other  conclusion  than 
that  national  character  has  some  very  important  agency — 
or,  perhaps,  it  might  be  safer  to  say,  has  had  some  very 
important  agency — through  some  cause  or  other,  in  disqua 
lifying  France  from  becoming  a  great  naval  power,  in  the 
sense  of  skill ;  in  that  of  mere  force,  so  great  a  nation  must 
always  be  formidable.  Now  she  sends  her  princes  to  sea, 
however,  we  may  look  for  different  results. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  an  Englishman,  or  an  Ame 
rican,  rarely  went  alongside  of  a  Frenchman,  in  1798,  with 
out  a  strong  moral  assurance  of  victory,  he  was  sometimes 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  127 

disappointed.  There  was  no  lack  of  courage  in  their  ene 
mies,  and  it  occasionally  happened  that  there  was  no  lack 
of  skill.  Every  manifestation  that  the  experience  of  our 
captain  could  detect,  went  to  show  that  we  had  fallen  in  with 
one  of  these  exceptions.  As  we  drew  nearer  to  our  enemy, 
we  perceived  that  he  was  acting  like  a  seaman.  His  sails 
had  been  furled  without  haste  or  confusion;  an  infallible 
evidence  of  coolness  and  discipline  when  done  on  the  eve  of 
battle,  and  signs  that  the  watchful  seaman,  on  such  occa 
sions,  usually  notes  as  unerring  indications  of  the  sort  of 
struggle  that  awaits  him.  It  was  consequently  understood, 
among  us  on  the  quarter-deck,  that  we  were  likely  to  have 
a  warm  day's  work  of  it.  Nevertheless,  we  had  gone  too 
far  to  retreat  without  an  effort,  and  we  began,  in  our  turn, 
to  shorten  sail,  in  readiness  for  the  combat.  Marble  was  a 
prince  of  a  fellow,  when  it  came  to  anything  serious.  I 
never  saw  him  shorten  sail  as  coolly  and  readily  as  he  did 
that  very  day.  We  had  everything  ready  in  ten  minutes 
after  we  began. 

It  was  rare,  indeed,  to  see  two  letters-of-marque  set-to  as 
coolly  and  as  scientifically  as  were  the  facts  with  the  Crisis 
and  la  Dame  de  Nantes ;  for  so,  as  we  afterwards  ascer 
tained,  was  our  antagonist  called.  Neither  party  aimed  at 
any  great  advantage  by  manoeuvring ;  but  we  came  up  along 
side  of  "  The  Lady,"  as  our  men  subsequently  nick-named 
the  Frenchman,  the  two  vessels  delivering  their  broadsides 
nearly  at  the  same  instant.  I  was  stationed  on  the  fore 
castle,  in  charge  of  the  head-sheets,  with  orders  to  attend 
generally  to  the  braces  and  the  rigging,  using  a  musket  in 
moments  that  were  not  otherwise  employed.  Away  went 
both  my  jib-sheet  blocks  at  the  beginning,  giving  me  a  very 
pretty  job  from  the  outset.  This  was  but  the  commencement 
of  trouble ;  for,  during  the  two  hours  and  a  half  that  we  lay 
battering  la  Dame  de  Nantes,  and  she  lay  battering  us,  I 
had  really  so  much  to  attend  to  in  the  way  of  reeving,  knot 
ting,  splicing,  and  turning  in  afresh,  that  I  had  scarcely  a 
minute  to  look  about  me,  in  order  to  ascertain  how  the  day 
was  going.  I  fired  my  musket  but  twice.  The  glimpses  1 
did  manage  to  take  were  far  from  satisfactory,  however  ; 
several  of  our  people  being  killed  or  wounded,  one  gun  fairly 
crippled  by  a  shot,  and  our  rigging  in  a  sad  plight.  The 


128  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

only  thing  encouraging  was  Neb's  shout,  the  fellow  making 
it  a  point  to  roar  almost  as  loud  as  his  gun,  at  each  dis 
charge. 

It  was  evident  from  the  first  that  the  Frenchman  had 
nearly  twice  as  many  men  as  we  carried.  This  rendered 
any  attempt  at  boarding  imprudent,  and,  in  the  way  of 
pounding,  our  prospects  were  by  no  means  flattering.  At 
length  I  heard  a  rushing  sound  over  my  head,  and,  looking 
up,  I  saw  that  the  main-top-mast,  with  the  yards  and  sails, 
had  come  down  on  the  fore-braces,  and  might  shortly  be 
expected  on  deck.  At  this  point,  Captain  Williams  ordered 
all  hands  from  the  guns  to  clear  the  wreck.  At  the  same 
instant,  our  antagonist,  with  a  degree  of  complaisance  that 
I  could  have  hugged  him  for,  ceased  firing  also.  Both  sides 
seemed  to  think  it  was  very  foolish  for  two  merchantmen  to 
lie  within  a  cable's  length  of  each  other,  trying  which  could 
do  the  other  the  most  harm ;  and  both  sides  set  about  the, 
by  this  time,  very  necessary  duty  of  repairing  damages. 
While  this  was  going  on,  the  men  at  the  wheel,  by  a  species 
of  instinctive  caution,  did  their  whole  duty.  The  Crisis 
luffed  all  she  was  able,  while  la  Dame  de  Nantes  edged  away 
all  she  very  conveniently  could,  placing  more  than  a  mile 
of  blue  water  between  the  two  vessels,  before  we,  who  were 
at  work  aloft,  were  aware  they  were  so  decidedly  running 
on  diverging  lines. 

It  was  night  before  we  got  our  wreck  clear ;  and  then  we 
had  to  look  about  us,  to  get  out  spare  spars,  fit  them,  rig 
them,  point  them,  and  sway  them  aloft.  The  last  operation, 
however,  was  deferred  until  morning.  As  it  was,  the  day's 
work  had  been  hard,  and  the  people  really  wanted  rest. 
Rest  was  granted  them  at  eight  o'clock ;  at  which  hour,  our 
late  antagonist  was  visible  about  a  league  distant,  the  dark 
ness  beginning  to  envelope  her.  In  the  morning  the  horizon 
was  clear,  owing  to  the  repulsion  which  existed  in  so  much 
force  between  the  two  vessels.  It  was  not  our  business  to 
trouble  ourselves  about  the  fate  of  our  adversary,  but  to  take 
heed  of  our  own.  That  morning  we  got  up  our  spars, 
crossed  the  yards,  and  made  sail  again.  We  had  several 
days'  work  in  repairing  all  our  damages;  but,  happening  to 
be  found  for  a  long  voyage,  and  well  found,  too,  by  thn  end 
of  a  week  the  Crisis  was  in  as  good  order  as  if  we  had  not 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  129 

fought  a  battle.  As  for  the  combat,  it  was  one  of  those  in 
which  either  side  might  claim  the  victory,  or  not,  as  it  suited 
tastes.  We  had  very  ingenious  excuses  for  our  failure, 
however ;  and  I  make  no  doubt  the  French  were  just  as 
ready,  in  this  way,  as  we  were  ourselves. 

Our  loss  in  this  engagement  amounted  to  two  men  killed 
outright,  and  to  seven  wounded,  two  of  whom  died  within  a 
few  days.  The  remaining  wounded  all  recovered,  though 
the  second-mate,  who  was  one  of  them,  I  believe  never  got 
to  be  again  the  man  he  had  been.  A  canister-shot  lodged 
near  his  hip,  and  the  creature  we  had  on  board  as  a  surgeon 
was  not  the  hero  to  extract  it.  In  that  day,  the  country  was 
not  so  very  well  provided  with  medical  men  on  the  land,  as 
to  spare  many  good  ones  to  the  sea.  In  the  new  navy,  it 
was  much  the  fashion  to  say,  "  if  you  want  a  leg  amputated) 
send  for  the  carpenter ;  he  does  know  how  to  use  a  saw, 
while  it  is  questionable  whether  the  doctor  knows  how  to  use 
anything."  Times,  however,  are  greatly  altered  in  this 
respect ;  the  gentlemen  who  now  compose  this  branch  of  the 
service  being  not  only  worthy  of  commendation  for  their 
skill  and  services,  but  worthy  of  the  graduated  rank  which 
I  see  they  are  just  now  asking  of  the  justice  of  their  country, 
and  which,  as  that  country  ordinarily  administers  justice,  I 
am  much  afraid  they  will  ask  in  vain. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

"If  we 

Cannot  defend  our  own  door  from  the  dog, 
Let  us  be  worried ;  and  our  nation  lose 
The  name  of  hardiness,  and  policy." 

Henry  V. 

THE  combat  between  the  Crisis  and  la  Dame  de  Nante* 
took  place  in  42.37M2"  north  latitude,  and  34.16'.43"  west 
longitude,  from  Greenwich.  This  was  very  near  the  centre 
of  the  rorthern  Atlantic,  and  gave  us  ample  time  to  get  our 
ship  in  good  condition  before  we  drew  in  with  the  land. 


130  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

Shortly  after  the  affair,  the  wind  came  out  light  at  north 
east,  forcing  us  down  nearer  to  the  Bay  of  Biscay  than  was 
at  all  convenient,  when  bound  to  London.  The  weather  grew 
foggy,  too,  which  is  not  usual  on  the  coast  of  Europe,  with 
the  wind  at  east,  and  the  nights  dark.  Just  a  fortnight  after 
the  action,  I  was  awakened  early  one  morning  by  a  rough 
shake  of  the  shoulder  from  Marble,  who  had  the  watch,  but 
who  was  calling  me  at  least  an  hour  before  the  time.  "  Bear 
a  hand  and  turn  out,"  he  said ;  "  I  want  you  on  deck,  Mr. 
Wallingford."  I  obeyed,  of  course,  and  soon  stood  in  the 
presence  of  the  chief-mate,  rubbing  my  eyes  diligently,  as 
if  they  had  to  be  opened  by  friction. 

It  was  just  six  bells,  or  seven  o'clock,  and  one  of  the  watch 
was  on  the  point  of  making  the  bell  proclaim  as  much,  when 
Mr.  Marble  ordered  him  not  to  strike  the  hour.  The  wea 
ther  was  thick,  or  rather  foggy,  and  the  wind  light,  with 
very  little  sea  going.  All  this  I  had  time  to  notice,  to  listen 
to  the  unusual  order  about  the  bell,  and  to  gape  twice,  before 
the  mate  turned  to  me.  He  seized  my  arm,  carried  me  on 
the  lee  side  of  the  quarter-deck,  shook  his  finger  at  a  vacant 
spot  in  the  fog,  and  said — 

"  Miles,  my  boy,  down  yonder,  within  half  a  mile  of  this 
very  spot,  is  our  friend  the  Frenchman !" 

"  How  is  it  possible  you  can  know  that,  Mr.  Marble  ?"  I 
demanded  in  surprise. 

"  Because  I  have  seen  him,  with  these  two  good-looking 
eyes  of  mine.  This  fog  opens  and  shuts  like  a  playhouse- 
curtain,  and  I  got  a  peep  at  the  chap,  about  ten  minutes 
since.  It  was  a  short  look,  but  it  was  a  sure  one ;  I  would 
swear  to  the  fellow  in  any  admiralty  court  in  Christendom. 

"  And  what  do  you  intend  to  do,  Mr.  Marble  ?  We  found 
him  a  hard  subject  in  clear  weather  ,*  what  can  we  do  with 
him  in  thick  ?" 

"  That  depends  on  the  old  man  ;  his  very  natur'  is  over 
laid  by  what  has  happened  already,  and  I  rather  think  he 
will  be  for  a  fresh  skrimmage" — Marble  was  an  uneducated 
Kennebunk  man,  and  by  no  means  particular  about  his 
English.  **  There  '11  be  good  picking  in  that  French  gen 
tleman,  Master  Miles,  for  those  who  come  in  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  plunder !" 

The  chief-mate  then  told  me  to  go  below  and  turn  up  all 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  131 

hands,  making  as  little  rumpus  about  it  as  possible.  This 
I  did ;  and  when  I  returned  to  the  deck,  I  found  the  fingers 
of  Marble  going  again,  with  Captain  Williams  for  his  audi 
tor,  just  as  they  had  gone  to  me,  a  few  minutes  earlier. 
Being  an  officer,  I  made  no  scruples  about  joining  the  party. 
Marble  was  giving  his  account  of  the  manner  in  which  he 
had  momentarily  seen  the  enemy,  the  canvass  he  was  under, 
the  course  he  was  steering,  and  the  air  of  security  that  pre 
vailed  about  him.  So  much,  he  insisted  he  had  noted,  though 
he  saw  the  ship  for  about  twenty  seconds  only.  All  this, 
however,  might  be  true,  for  a  seaman's  eye  is  quick,  and  he 
has  modes  of  his  own  for  seeing  a  great  deal  in  a  brief 
space  of  time.  Marble  now  proposed  that  we  should  go  to 
quarters,  run  alongside  of  the  Frenchman,  pour  in  a  broad 
side,  and  board  him  in  the  smoke.  Our  success  would  be 
certain,  could  we  close  with  him  without  being  seen ;  and  it 
would  be  almost  as  certain,  could  we  engage  him  with  our 
guns  by  surprise.  The  chief-mate  was  of  opinion  we  had 
dosed  him  in  the  other  affair,  in  a  way  to  sicken  him ;  this 
time  we  should  bring  him  to  with  a  round  turn  ! 

The  "  old  man"  was  pleased  with  the  notion,  I  saw  at  a 
glance ;  and  I  confess  it  took  my  fancy  also.  We  all  felt 
very  sore  at  the  result  of  the  other  attempt,  and  here  it 
seemed  as  if  fortune  gave  us  a  good  occasion  for  repairing 
the  evil. 

"  There  can  be  no  harm  in  getting  ready,  Mr.  Marble," 
the  captain  observed ;  "  and  when  we  are  ready  ourselves 
we  shall  know  better  what  to  think  of  the  matter." 

This  was  no  sooner  said,  than  away  we  went  to  clear  ship. 
Our  task  was  soon  done ;  the  tompions  were  got  out,  the 
guns  cast  loose,  ammunition  was  brought  up,  and  a  stand 
of  grape  was  put  in  over  the  shot  in  every  piece  in  both 
batteries.  As  the  men  were  told  the  motive,  they  worked 
like  dray-horses ;  and  I  do  not  think  we  were  ten  minutes 
before  the  ship  was  ready  to  go  into  action,  at  a  moment's 
notice. 

All  this  time,  Captain  Williams  refused  to  keep  the  ship 
away.  I  believe  he  wanted  to  get  a  look  at  our  neighbour 
himself,  for  he  could  not  but  foresee  what  might  be  the  con 
sequences,  should  he  run  down  in  the  fog,  and  engage  a 
heavier  vessel  than  his  own,  without  the  ceremony  of  a  hail. 


132  AFLOAT     AKD     AHHORE. 

The  sea  was  covered  with  Englishmen,  and  one  of  their 
cruisers  might  not  very  easily  pardon  such  a  mistake,  how- 
ever  honestly  made.  But  preparation  seems  to  infer  a  neces 
sity  for  performance.  When  everything  was  ready,  all  eyea 
were  turned  aft  in  a  way  that  human  nature  could  hardly 
endure,  and  the  captain  was  obliged  to  yield.  As  Marble, 
of  all  on  board,  had  alone  seen  the  other  vessel,  he  was 
directed  to  conn  the  Crisis  in  the  delicate  operation  she  was 
about  to  undertake. 

As  before,  my  station  was  on  the  forecastle.  I  had  been 
directed  to  keep  a  bright  look-out,  as  the  enemy  would 
doubtless  be  first  seen  from  forward.  The  order  was  unne 
cessary,  however,  for  never  did  human  beings  gaze  into  a 
fog  more  anxiously,  than  did  all  on  board  our  ship  on  this 
occasion.  Calculating  by  the  distance,  and  the  courses 
steered,  we  supposed  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  would  bring  us 
square  alongside  of  Mr.  Marble's  ship ;  though  some  among 
us  doubted  his  having  seen  any  vessel  at  all.  There  was 
about  a  five-knot  breeze,  and  we  had  all  our  square  sails  set, 
knowing  it  was  necessary  to  go  a  little  faster  than  our  ad 
versary,  to  catch  up  with  him.  The  intense  expectation, 
not  to  say  anxiety,  of  such  a  scene,  is  not  easily  described. 
The  surrounding  fog,  at  times,  seemed  filled  with  ships  ;  but 
all  vanished  into  thick  air,  one  after  another,  leaving  nothing 
but  vapour.  Severe  orders  had  been  given  for  no  one  to 
call  out,  but,  the  moment  the  ship  was  seen,  for  the  disco 
verer  to  go  aft  and  report.  At  least  a  dozen  men  left  their 
quarters  on  this  errand,  all  returning  in  the  next  instant, 
satisfied  they  had  been  deceived.  Each  moment,  too,  in 
creased  the  expectation ;  for  each  moment  must  we  be 
getting  nearer  and  nearer  to  her,  if  any  vessel  were  really 
there.  Quite  twenty  minutes,  however,  passed  in  this  man 
ner,  and  no  ship  was  seen.  Marble  continued  cool  and 
confident,  but  the  captain  and  second-mate  smiled,  while  the 
people  began  to  shake  their  heads,  and  roll  the  tobacco  into 
their  cheeks.  As  we  advanced,  our  own  ship  luffed  by 
degrees,  until  we  had  got  fairly  on  our  old  course  again,  or 
were  sailing  close  upon  the  wind.  This  change  was  made 
easily,  the  braces  not  having  been  touched ;  a  precaution 
that  was  taken  expressly  to  give  us  this  advantage.  When 
we  found  ourselves  once  more  close  upon  the  wind,  we  gave 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  133 

the  matter  up  forward,  supposing  the  mate  had  been  de 
ceived.     I  saw  by  the  expression  of  the  captain's  face  tha 
he  was  about  to  give  the  order  to  secure  the  guns,  when, 
casting  my  eyes  forward,  there  was  a  ship,  sure  enough, 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  us !     I  held  up  both  arms,  as  I 
looked  aft,  and  luckily  caught  the  captain's  eye.     In  an 
instant,  he  was  on  the  forecastle. 

It  was  easy  enough  to  see  the  stranger  now.  There  he 
was  in  the  fog,  looking  mystical  and  hazy ;  but  there  he 
was,  under  his  main-top-gallant-sail,  close-hauled,  and  mov 
ing  ahead  in  all  the  confidence  of  the  solitude  of  the  ocean. 
We  could  not  see  his  hull,  or  so  faintly  as  only  to  distinguish 
its  mass ;  but  from  his  tops  up,  there  was  no  mistaking  the 
objects.  We  had  shot  away  the  Frenchman's  mizen-royal- 
mast.  It  was  a  pole,  and  there  the  stump  stood,  just  as  it 
was  when  we  had  last  seen  him  on  the  evening  of  the  day 
of  the  combat.  This  left  no  doubt  of  the  character  of  our 
neighbour,  and  it  at  once  determined  our  course.  As  it  was, 
we  were  greatly  outsailing  him,  but  an  order  was  imme 
diately  given  to  set  the  light  staysails.  As  Captain  Williams 
passed  aft,  he  gave  his  orders  to  the  men  in  the  batteries. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  second-mate,  who  spoke  very  good 
New  York  French,  came  upon  the  forecastle,  in  readiness 
to  answer  the  expected  hail.  As  the  Crisis  was  kept  a  little 
free,  in  order  to  close,  and  as  she  sailed  so  fast,  it  was  appa 
rent  we  were  coming  up  with  the  chase,  hand  over  hand. 

The  two  ships  were  not  more  than  a  hundred  feet  asunder 
when  the  Frenchmen  first  saw  us.  This  blindness  was 
owing  to  several  circumstances.  In  the  first  place,  ten  men 
look  forward  in  a  ship,  where  one  looks  aft.  Those  who 
looked  aloft,  too,  were  generally  on  the  quarter-deck,  and 
this  prevented  them  from  looking  astern.  Then  the  French 
man's  crew  had  just  gone  to  their  breakfasts,  most  of  them 
eating  below.  She  was  so  strong-handed,  moreover,  as  to 
give  a  forenoon's  watch  below,  and  this  still  left  many  of  the 
sluggards  in  their  hammocks.  In  that  day,  even  a  French 
ship-of-the-line  was  no  model  of  discipline  or  order,  and  a 
letter-of-marque  was  consequently  worse.  As  it  afterwards 
appeared,  we  were  first  seen  by  the  mate  of  the  watch,  who 
ran  to  the  taffrail,  and,  instead  of  giving  an  order  to  call  all 
lands,  be  hailed  us.  Mr.  Forbank,  our  second-mate,  an- 
12 


134  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

swered;  mumbling  his  words  so,  that,  if  they  were  bad 
French,  they  did  not  sound  like  good  English.  He  got  out 
the  name  "  Le  Hasard,  de  Bordeaux,"  pretty  plainly,  how 
ever  ;  and  this  served  to  mystify  the  mate  for  a  few  seconds. 
By  the  end  of  that  time,  our  bows  were  doubling  on  the 
Frenchman's  quarter,  and  we  were  sheering  into  him  so  fast 
as  quite  to  distract  the  Nantes  man.  The  hail  had  been 
heard  below,  however,  and  the  Frenchmen  came  tumbling 
up  by  the  dozen,  forward  and  aft. 

Captain  Williams  was  a  prime  seaman,  and  one  of  the 
coolest  men  that  ever  lived.  Everything  that  day  was  done 
at  precisely  the  proper  moment.  The  Frenchman  attempted 
to  keep  off,  but  our  wheel  was  so  touched  as  to  keep  us  lap 
ping  in  nearly  a  parallel  line  with  them,  the  whole  time ; 
and  our  forward  sails  soon  becalmed  even  their  mainsail. 
Of  course  we  went  two  feet  to  their  one.  Marble  came  on 
the  forecastle,  just  as  our  cat-head  was  abreast  of  "  The 
Lady's"  forward-rigging.  Less  than  a  minute  was  required 
to  take  us  so  far  forward,  and  that  minute  was  one  of  great 
confusion  among  the  French.  As  soon  as  Marble  got  on 
the  forecastle,  he  made  a  signal,  the  ensign  was  run  up,  and 
the  order  was  given  to  fire.  We  let  fly  all  five  of  our  nine- 
pounders,  loaded  with  two  round  and  a  stand  of  grape,  at 
the  same  moment.  At  the  next  instant,  the  crash  of  the 
ships  coming  foul  of  each  other  was  heard.  Marble  shouted 
"  Come  on,  boys !"  and  away  he,  and  I,  and  Neb,  and  all 
hands  of  us,  went  on  board  of  the  Frenchman  like  a  hurri 
cane.  I  anticipated  a  furious  hand  to  hand  conflict ;  but  we 
found  the  deck  deserted,  and  had  no  difficulty  whatever  in 
getting  possession.  The  surprise,  the  rush,  and  the  effect 
of  the  broadside,  gave  us  an  easy  victory.  The  French 
captain  had  been  nearly  cut  in  two  by  a  nine-pound  shot, 
moreover,  and  both  of  the  mates  were  severely  wounded. 
These  accidents  contributed  largely  to  our  success,  causing 
the  enemy  to  abandon  the  defence  as  hopeless.  We  had  not 
a  soul  hurt. 

The  prize  proved  to  be  the  ship  I  have  mentioned,  a  letter- 
of-marque,  from  Guadaloupe,  bound  to  Nantes.  She  was  a 
trifle  larger  than  the  Crisis,  mounted  twelve  French  nines, 
and  had  eighty -three  souls  on  board  when  she  sailed.  Of 
these,  however,  no  less  than  twenty-three  had  been  killed 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  135 

and  wounded  in  our  previous  affair  with  her,  and  severa. 
were  absent  in  a  prize.  Of  the  wounded,  nearly  all  were 
still  in  their  hammocks.  Among  the  remainder,  some  six 
teen  or  eighteen  suffered  by  our  close  and  destructive  broad 
side  on  the  present  occasion,  reducing  the  efficient  part  of 
her  crew  to  about  our  own  numbers.  The  vessel  was  new 
and  valuable,  and  her  cargo  was  invoiced  at  something  like 
sixty  thousand  dollars,  having  some  cochineal  among  it. 

As  soon  as  assured  of  our  victory,  the  Crisis's  main-top 
sail  was  braced  aback,  as  well  as  it  could  be,  and  her  helm 
put  down.  At  the  same  time,  the  Dame  was  kept  away, 
and  the  two  ships  went  clear  of  each  other.  Little  injury 
had  been  done  by  the  collision,  or  the  grinding;  and,  in 
consequence  of  our  guns  having  been  so  much  shotted,  no 
damage  whatever  was  done  the  lower  masts  of  the  prize. 
The  shot  had  just  force  enough  to  pass  through  the  bulwarks, 
make  splinters,  and  to  lodge.  This  left  both  vessels  in  good 
condition  for  going  into  port. 

At  first  it  was  determined  to  leave  me  in  la  Dame  de 
Nantes,  as  prize-master,  with  directions  to  follow  the  Crisis 
into  Falmouth,  whither  she  was  bound  for  orders.  But,  on 
further  examination,  it  was  discovered  that  the  crew  of  an 
American  brig  was  on  board  the  prize  as  prisoners;  la 
Dame  de  Nantes  having  captured  the  vessel  only  two  days 
before  we  met  the  former  the  first  time,  taken  out  her  people, 
manned  her,  and  ordered  her  for  Nantes.  These  Ameri 
cans,  including  the  master  and  two  mates,  amounted  to 
thirteen  souls  in  all,  and  they  enabled  us  to  make  a  different 
disposition  of  the  prize.  The  result  of  an  hour  or  two's 
deliberations  was  as  follows  : 

Our  old  second-mate,  whose  hurt  was  likely  to  require 
better  care  than  could  be  had  on  the  North-west  Coast,  was 
put  on  board  the  French  ship  as  prize- master,  with  orders  to 
make  the  best  of  his  way  to  New  York.  The  master  and 
chief-mate  of  the  American  brig  agreed  to  act  under  him, 
and  to  assist  in  carrying  la  Dame  across  the  ocean.  Three 
or  four  of  our  invalids  were  sent  home  also,  and  the  libe 
rated  Americans  took  service  for  the  passage.  All  the 
French  wounded  were  left  in  the  ship,  under  the  charge  of 
their  own  surgeon,  who  was  a  man  of  some  little  merit, 


136  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

though  a  good  deal  of  a  butcher,  as  was  too  much  the  fashion 
of  that  day. 

It  was  dark  before  all  the  arrangements  were  made,  when 
la  Dame  de  Nantes  turned  short  round  on  her  heel,  and 
made  sail  for  America.  Of  course  our  captain  sent  in  his 
official  report  by  her,  and  I  seized  a  moment  to  write  a  short 
letter  to  Grace,  which  was  so  worded  as  to  be  addressed  to 
the  whole  family.  I  knew  how  much  happiness  a  line  from 
me  would  bestow,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  to  inform  them, 
also,  that  I  was  promoted  to  be  second-mate — the  second- 
mate  of  the  American  brig  having  shipped  as  my  successor 
in  the  rank  of  third-officer. 

The  parting  on  the  wide  ocean,  that  night,  was  solemn, 
and,  in  some  respects,  sad.  We  knew  that  several  who 
were  in  la  Dame  de  Nantes  would  probably  be  left  behind, 
as  she  travelled  her  long,  solitary  path,  in  the  depths  of  the 
ocean  ;  and  there  were  the  chances  that  she,  herself,  might 
never  arrive.  As  respects  the  last,  however,  the  odds 
were  in  her  favour,  the  American  coast  being  effectually 
cleared  of  French  privateers  by  that  time;  and  I  subse 
quently  received  eleven  hundred  and  seventy-three  dollars 
for  my  share  in  that  exploit.  How  I  was  affected  by  the 
circumstance,  and  what  I  did  with  the  money,  will  appear 
in  the  sequel. 

The  Crisis  made  sail  on  a  bowline,  at  the  same  moment 
her  prize  filled  away  for  America ;  Miles  Wallingford  a 
much  more  important  personage  than  he  had  been  a  few 
hours  before.  We  put  the  prisoners  below,  keeping  a  good 
watch  over  them,  and  hauled  off  to  the  northward  and  west 
ward,  in  order  to  avoid  any  French  cruisers  that  might  be 
hovering  on  their  own  coast.  Captain  Williams  seemed 
satisfied  with  the  share  of  glory  he  had  obtained,  and  mani 
fested  no  further  disposition  to  seek  renown  in  arms.  As 
for  Marble,  I  never  knew  a  man  more  exalted  in  his  own 
esteem,  than  he  was  by  the  results  of  that  day's  work.  It 
certainly  did  him  great  credit ;  but,  from  that  hour,  woe  to 
the  man  who  pretended  to  dispute  with  him  concerning  the 
character  of  any  sail  that  happened  to  cross  our  path. 

The  day  after  we  parted  company  with  our  prize,  we 
made  a  sail  to  the  westward,  and  hauled  up  to  take  a  look 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE  137 

at  her,  the  wind  having  shifted.  She  was  soon  pronounced 
to  be  an  American ;  but,  though  we  showed  our  colours,  the 
stranger,  a  brig,  manifested  no  disposition  to  speak  us.  This 
induced  Captain  Williams  to  make  sail  in  chase,  more  espe 
cially  as  the  brig  endeavoured  to  elude  us  by  passing  ahead, 
and  the  run  was  pretty  nearly  on  our  course.  At  4,  P.  M. 
we  got  near  enough  to  throw  a  nine-pound  shot  between  the 
fellow's  masts,  when  the  chase  hove-to,  and  permitted  us  to 
come  up.  The  brig  proved  to  be  the  prize  of  la  Dame  de 
Nantes,  and  we  took  possession  of  her  forthwith.  As  this 
vessel  was  loaded  with  flour,  pot  and  pearl  ashes,  &c.,  and 
was  bound  to  London,  I  was  put  in  charge  of  her,  with  a 
young  man  of  my  own  age,  of  the  name  of  Roger  Talcott, 
for  my  assistant,  having  six  men  for  my  crew.  Of  course 
the  Frenchmen,  all  but  one  who  acted  as  cook  and  steward 
excepted,  were  received  on  board  the  Crisis.  Neb  went 
with  me,  through  his  own  and  my  earnest  entreaties,  though 
spared  by  Marble  with  great  reluctance. 

This  was  my  first  command ;  and  proud  enough  did  I 
feel  on  the  occasion,  though  almost  dying  with  the  appre 
hension  of  doing  something  wrong.  My  orders  were,  to 
make  the  Lizard  light,  and  to  crawl  along  up-channel,  keep 
ing  close  in  with  the  English  coast ;  Captain  Williams 
anticipating  instructions  to  go  to  the  same  port  to  which  the 
Amanda  (the  brig)  was  bound,  and  expecting  to  overtake  us, 
after  he  had  called  at  Falmouth  for  his  orders.  As  the 
Crisis  could  go  four  feet  to  the  Amanda's  three,  before  sun 
set  our  old  ship  was  hull  down  ahead  of  us. 

When  I  took  charge  of  the  deck  the  next  morning,  I  found 
myself  on  the  wide  ocean,  with  nothing  in  sight,  at  the  age 
of  eighteen,  and  in  the  enemy's  seas,  with  a  valuable  vessel 
to  care  for,  my  way  to  find  into  narrow  waters  that  I  had 
never  entered,  and  a  crew  on  board,  of  whom  just  one-half 
were  now  on  their  first  voyage.  Our  green  hands  had 
manifested  the  aptitude  of  Americans,  and  had  done  wonders 
in  the  way  of  improvement ;  but  a  great  deal  still  remained 
to  be  learned.  The  Crisis's  complement  had  been  too  large 
to  employ  everybody  at  all  sorts  of  work,  as  is  usually  done 
in  a  merchant-vessel  with  her  ordinary  number  of  hands, 
and  the  landsmen  had  to  take  their  chances  for  instruction. 
12* 


138  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

Notwithstanding,  the  men  I  got  were  stout,  healthy,  willing 
and  able  to  pull  and  haul  with  the  oldest  salts. 

By  the  arrangement  that  had  been  made,  I  was  now 
thrown  upon  my  own  resources.  Seamanship,  navigation, 
address,  prudence,  all  depended  on  me.  I  confess  I  was,  at 
first,  nearly  as  much  depressed  by  the  novelty  and  respon 
sibility  of  my  command,  as  Neb  was  delighted.  But  it  is 
surprising  how  soon  we  get  accustomed  to  changes  of  this 
sort.  The  first  five  or  six  hours  set  me  quite  at  my  ease, 
though  it  is  true  nothing  occurred  in  the  least  out  of  the 
usual  way ;  and,  by  the  time  the  sun  set,  I  should  have  been 
happy,  could  I  have  got  over  the  uneasiness  produced  by 
the  darkness.  The  wind  had  got  round  to  south-west,  and 
blew  fresh.  I  set  a  lower  and  a  top-mast  studding-sail,  and 
by  the  time  the  light  had  entirely  vanished,  the  brig  began 
to  drag  after  her  canvass  in  a  way  to  keep  me  wide  awake. 
I  was  at  a  loss  whether  to  shorten  sail  or  not.  On  the  one 
hand,  there  was  the  apprehension  of  carrying  away  some 
thing  ;  and,  on  the  other,  the  fear  of  seeming  timid  in  the 
eyes  of  the  two  or  three  seamen  I  had  with  me.  I  watched 
the  countenances  of  these  men,  in  order  to  glean  their  private 
sentiments  ;  but,  usually,  Jack  relies  so  much  on  his  officers, 
that  he  seldom  anticipates  evils.  As  for  Neb,  the  harder  it 
blew,  the  greater  was  his  rapture.  He  appeared  to  think 
the  wind  was  Master  Miles's,  as  well  as  the  ocean,  the  brig;, 
and  himself.  The  more  there  was  of  each,  the  richer  I 
became.  As  for  Talcott,  he  was  scarcely  as  good  a  seaman 
as  myself,  though  he  was  well-educated,  had  good  manners, 
was  well-connected,  and  had  been  my  original  competitor 
for  the  office  of  third-mate.  I  had  been  preferred  only 
through  the  earnest  recommendations  of  Marble.  Talcott, 
however,  was  as  expert  a  navigator  as  we  had  in  the  ship, 
and  had  been  placed  with  me  on  that  account;  Captain 
Williams  fancying  two  heads  might  prove  better  than  one. 
I  took  this  young  man  into  the  cabin  with  me,  not  only  as  a 
companion,  but  to  give  him  consideration  with  the  people 
forward.  On  shore,  though  less  fortunate  in  the  way  of 
state,  he  would  have  been  considered  as  fully  my  equal  in 
position. 

Talcott  and  myself  remained  on  deck  together  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  first  night  and  the  little  sleep  I  did  get  was 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  139 

caught  in  a  top-mast  studding-sail  that  lay  on  the  quarter 
deck,  and  which  I  had  determined  not  to  set,  after  rovvsing 
it  up  for  that  purpose.  When  daylight  returned,  however, 
with  a  clear  horizon,  no  increase  of  wind,  and  nothing  in 
sight,  I  was  so  much  relieved  as  to  take  a  good  nap  until 
eight.  All  that  day  we  started  neither  tack  nor  sheet,  nor 
touched  a  brace.  Towards  evening  I  went  aloft  myself  to 
look  for  land,  but  without  success,  though  I  knew,  from  our 
observation  at  noon,  it  could  not  be  far  off.  Fifty  years  ago 
the  longitude  was  the  great  difficulty  with  navigators.  Both 
TalcotlTand  myself  did  very  well  with  the  lunars,  it  is  true; 
but  there  was  no  chance  to  observe,  and  even  lunars  soon 
get  out  of  their  reckoning  among  currents  and  tides.  Glad 
enough,  then,  was  I  to  hear  Neb  sing  out  "  Light  ahead  !" 
from  the  fore-top-sail-yard.  This  was  about  ten  o'clock. 
I  knew  this  light  must  be  the  Lizard,  as  we  were  too  far  to 
the  eastward  for  Scilly.  The  course  was  changed  so  as  to 
bring  the  light  a  little  on  the  weather-bow ;  and  I  watched 
for  its  appearance  to  us  on  deck  with  an  anxiety  I  have 
experienced,  since,  only  in  the  most  trying  circumstances. 
Half  an  hour  sufficed  for  this,  and  then  I  felt  comparatively 
happy.  A  new  beginner  even  is  not  badly  off  with  the  wind 
fresh  at  south-west,  and  the  Lizard  light  in  plain  view  on  his 
weather-bow,  if  he  happen  to  be  bound  up-channel.  That 
night,  consequently,  proved  to  be  more  comfortable  than  the 
previous. 

Next  morning  there  was  no  change,  except  in  the  brig's 
position.  We  were  well  in  the  channel,  had  the  land  as 
close  aboard  as  was  prudent,  and  could  plainly  see,  by 
objects  ashore,  that  we  were  travelling  ahead  at  a  famous 
rate.  We  went  within  a  mile  of  the  Eddystone,  so  deter 
mined  was  I  to  keep  as  far  as  possible  from  the  French 
privateers.  Next  morning  we  were  up  abreast  of  the  Isle 
of  Wight ;  but  the  wind  had  got  round  to  the  southward  and 
eastward,  becoming  much  lighter,  and  so  scant  as  to  bring 
us  on  a  taut  bowline.  This  made  England  a  lee-shore,  and 
I  began  to  be  as  glad  to  get  off  it,  as  I  had  lately  been  to 
hug  it. 

All  this  time,  it  will  easily  be  understood  that  we  kept  a 
sharp  look-out,  on  board  the  brig,  for  enemies.  We  saw  a 
great  many  sail,  particularly  as  we  approached  the  Straits 


140  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

of  Dover,  and  kept  as  much  aloof  from  all  as  circumstances 
would  allow.  Several  were  evidently  English  vessels-of- 
war,  and  1  felt  no  small  concern  on  the  subject  of  having 
some  of  my  men  impressed ;  for  at  that  period,  and  for  many 
years  afterwards,  ships  of  all  nations  that  traded  with  the 
English  lost  many  of  their  people  by  this  practice,  and  the 
American  craft  more  than  any  other.  I  ascribed  to  our 
sticking  so  close  to  the  coast,  which  we  did  as  long  as  it  was 
at  all  safe,  the  manner  in  which  we  were  permitted  to  pass 
unnoticed,  or,  at  least,  undetained.  But,  as  we  drew  nearer 
to  the  narrow  waters,  I  had  little  hope  of  escaping  without 
being  boarded.  In  the  mean  while,  we  made  short  stretches 
off  the  land,  and  back  again,  all  one  day  and  night,  working 
slowly  to  the  eastward.  We  still  met  with  no  interruption. 
I  was  fast  getting  confidence  in  myself;  handling  the  Aman 
da,  in  my  own  judgment,  quite  as  well  as  Marble  could  have 
done  it,  and  getting  my  green  hands  into  so  much  method 
and  practice,  that  I  should  not  have  hesitated  about  turning 
round  and  shaping  our  course  for  New  York,  so  far  as  the 
mere  business  of  navigating  the  vessel  was  concerned. 

The  lights  on  the  English  coast  were  safe  guides  for  our 
movements,  and  they  let  me  understand  how  much  we  made 
or  lost  on  a  tack.  Dungeness  was  drawing  nearer  slowly, 
to  appearances,  and  I  was  beginning  to  look  out  for  a  pilot ; 
when  Talcott,  who  had  the  watch,  about  three  in  the  morn 
ing,  came  with  breathless  haste  into  the  cabin,  to  tell  me 
there  was  a  sail  closing  with  us  fast,  and,  so  far  as  he  could 
make  her  out  in  the  darkness,  she  was  Rigger-rigged.  This 
was  startling  news  indeed,  for  it  was  almost  tantamount  to 
saying  the  stranger  was  a  Frenchman.  I  did  not  undress 
at  all,  and  was  on  deck  in  a  moment.  The  vessel  in  chase 
was  about  half  a  mile  distant  on  our  lee-quarter,  but  could 
be  plainly  enough  distinguished,  and  I  saw  at  a  glance  she 
was  a  lugger.  There  were  certainly  English  luggers  ;  but 
all  the  traditions  of  the  profession  had  taught  me  to  regard 
a  vessel  of  that  particular  rig  as  a  Frenchman.  I  had  heard 
of  privateers  from  Dunkirk,  Boulogne,  and  various  other 
ports  in  France,  running  over  to  the  English  coast  in  the 
night,  and  making  prizes,  just  as  this  fellow  seemed  disposed 
to  serve  us.  Luckily,  our  head  was  toward  the  land,  and 
we  were  looking  about  a  point  and  a  half  to  windward  of  the 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  141 

light  on  Dungeness,  being  also  favoured  with  a  flood-tide,  so 
far  as  we  could  judge  by  the  rapid  drift  of  the  vessel  to 
windward. 

My  decision  was  made  in  a  minute.  I  knew  nothing  of 
batteries,  or  where  to  seek  protection ;  but  there  was  the 
land,  and  I  determined  to  make  for  it  as  fast  as  I  could.  By 
keeping  the  brig  a  good  full,  and  making  all  the  sail  she 
could  carry,  I  thought  we  might  run  ashore  before  the  lugger 
could  get  alongside  us.  As  for  her  firing,  I  did  not  believe 
she  would  dare  to  attempt  that,  as  it  might  bring  some  Eng 
lish  cruiser  on  her  heels,  and  France  was  some  hours'  sail 
distant.  The  fore  and  mizen  top-gallant-sails  were  set  as 
fast  as  possible,  the  weather-braces  pulled  upon  a  little,  the 
bowlines  eased,  and  the  brig  kept  a  rap-full.  The  Amanda 
was  no  flyer,  certainly ;  but  she  seemed  frightened  as  much 
as  we  were  ourselves,  that  night.  I  never  knew  her  to  get 
along  so  fast,  considering  the  wind ;  and  really  there  was  a 
short  time  when  I  began  to  think  she  held  her  own,  the  lug 
ger  being  jammed  up  as  close  as  she  could  be.  But  this 
was  all  delusion,  that  craft  coming  after  us  more  like  a  sea- 
serpent  than  a  machine  carried  ahead  by  canvass.  I  was 
soon  certain  that  escape  from  such  a  racer  by  sailing,  was 
altogether  out  of  the  question. 

The  land  and  light  were  now  close  aboard  us,  and  I  ex 
pected  every  moment  to  hear  the  brig's  keel  grinding  on  the 
bottom.  At  this  instant  I  caught  a  faint  glimpse  of  a  vessel 
at  anchor  to  the  eastward  of  the  point,  and  apparently  dis 
tant  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  The  thought  struck  me  that 
she  might  be  an  English  cruiser,  for  they  frequently  anchored 
in  such  places ;  and  I  called  out,  as  it  might  be  instinctively, 
"  luff!"  Neb  was  at  the  helm,  and  I  knew  by  his  cheerful 
answer  that  the  fellow  was  delighted.  It  was  lucky  we  luffed 
as  we  did,  for,  in  coming  to  the  wind,  the  vessel  gave  a 
scrape  that  was  a  fearful  admonisher  of  what  would  have 
happened  in  another  minute.  The  Amanda  minded  her 
helm  beautifully,  however,  and  we  went  past  the  nearest 
land  without  any  further  hints,  heading  up  just  high  enough 
to  fetch  a  little  to  windward  of  the  vessel  at  anchor.  At  the 
next  moment,  the  lugger,  then  about  a  cable's  length  from 
us,  was  shut  in  by  the  land.  I  was  now  in  great  hopes  the 
Frenchman  would  be  obliged  to  tack ;  but  he  had  measured 


142  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

his  distance  well,  and  felt  certain,  it  would  seem,  that  he 
could  lay  past.  .  He  reasoned,  probably,  as  Nelson  is  said 
to  have  reasoned  at  the  Nile,  and  as  some  of  his  captains 
unquestionably  did  reason ;  that  is,  if  there  was  water 
enough  for  us,  there  was  water  enough  for  him.  In  another 
minute  I  saw  him,  jammed  nearly  into  the  wind's  eye,  luffing 
past  the  point,  and  falling  as  easily  into  our  wake  as  if  drawn 
by  attraction. 

All  this  time,  the  night  was  unbroken  by  any  sound.  Not 
a  hail,  nor  a  call,  our  own  orders  excepted,  and  they  had 
been  given  in  low  tones,  had  been  audible  on  board  the 
Amanda.  As  regards  the  vessel  at  anchor,  she  appeared  to 
give  herself  no  concern.  There  she  lay,  a  fine  ship,  and,  as 
I  thought,  a  vessel-of-war,  like  a  marine  bird  asleep  on  its 
proper  element.  We  were  directly  between  her  and  the 
lugger,  and  it  is  possible  her  anchor-watch  did  not  see  the 
latter.  The  three  vessels  were  not  more  than  half  a  cable's 
length  asunder ;  that  is,  we  were  about  that  distance  from 
the  ship,  and  the  lugger  was  a  very  little  farther  from  us. 
Five  minutes  must  determine  the  matter.  I  was  on  the 
brig's  forecastle,  anxiously  examining  all  I  could  make  out 
on  board  the  ship,  as  her  size,  and  shape,  and  rig,  became 
slowly  more  and  more  distinct ;  and  I  hailed — 

"  Ship  ahoy !" 

"Hilloa!     What  brig's  that?" 

"  An  American,  with  a  French  privateer-lugger  close 
on  board  me,  directly  in  my  wake.  You  had  better  be 
stirring !" 

I  heard  the  quick  exclamation  of  "  The  devil  there  is !" 
"  Bloody  Yankees  !"  came  next.  Then  followed  the  call  of 
"  All  hands."  It  was  plain  enough  my  notice  had  set  every 
thing  in  motion  in  that  quarter.  Talcott  now  came  running 
forward  to  say  he  thought,  from  some  movements  on  board 
the  lugger,  that  her  people  were  now  first  apprised  of  the 
vicinity  of  the  ship.  I  had  been  sadly  disappointed  at  the 
call  for  all  hands  on  board  the  ship,  for  it  was  in  the  man 
ner  of  a  merchantman,  instead  of  that  of  a  vessel-of-war. 
But  we  were  getting  too  near  to  remain  much  longer  in 
doubt.  The  Amanda  was  already  sweeping  up  on  the  Eng« 
lishman's  bows,  not  more  than  forty  yards  distant. 

"She  is  an  English  West-Indiaman,  Mr.  Wallingford," 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  143 

said  one  of  my  oldest  seamen  ;  "  and  a  running  ship ;  some 
vessel  that  has  deserted  or  lost  her  convoy." 

"  Do  you  know  anything  of  the  lugger  ?"  demanded  an 
officer  from  on  board  the  ship,  in  a  voice  that  was  not  very 
amicable. 

"  No  more  than  you  see ;  she  has  chased  me,  close  aboard, 
for  the  last  twenty  minutes." 

There  was  no  reply  to  this  for  a  moment,  and  then  I  was 
asked — "  To  tack,  and  give  us  a  little  chance,  by  drawing 
him  away  for  a  few  minutes.  We  are  armed,  and  will  come 
out  to  your  assistance." 

Had  I  been  ten  years  older,  experience  in  the  faith  of 
men,  and  especially  of  men  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  gain, 
would  have  prevented  me  from  complying  with  this  request ; 
^ut,  at  eighteen,  one  views  these  things  differently.  It  did 
.ppear  to  me  ungenerous  to  lead  an  enemy  in  upon  a  man 
in  his  sleep,  and  not  endeavour  to  do  something  to  aid  the 
surprised  party.  I  answered  "ay,  ay !"  therefore,  and  tacked 
directly  alongside  of  the  ship.  But  the  manoeuvre  was  too 
late,  the  lugger  coming  in  between  the  ship  and  the  brig, 
just  as  we  began  to  draw  ahead  again,  leaving  him  room, 
and  getting  a  good  look  at  us  both.  The  Englishman  ap 
peared  the  most  inviting,  I  suppose,  for  she  up  helm  and 
went  on  board  of  him  on  his  quarter.  Neither  party  used 
their  guns.  We  were  so  near,  however,  as  plainly  to  under 
stand  the  whole,  to  distinguish  the  orders,  and  even  to  hear 
the  blows  that  were  struck  by  hand.  It  was  an  awful  minute 
to  us  in  the  brig.  The  cries  of  the  hurt  reached  us  in  the 
stillness  of  that  gloomy  morning,  and  oaths  mingled  with 
the  clamour.  Though  taken  by  surprise,  John  Bull  fought 
well ;  though  we  could  perceive  that  he  was  overpowered, 
however,  just  as  the  distance,  and  the  haze  that  was  be 
ginning  to  gather  thick  around  the  land,  shut  in  the  two 
vessels  from  our  view. 

The  disappearance  of  the  two  combatants  furnished  me 
with  a  hint  how  to  proceed.  I  stood  out  three  or  four  min 
utes  longer,  or  a  sufficient  distance  to  make  certain  we  should 
not  be  seen,  and  tacked  again.  In  order  to  draw  as  fast  as 
possible  out  of  the  line  of  sight,  we  kept  the  brig  off  a  little, 
and  then  ran  in  towards  the  English  coast,  which  was  suffi 
ciently  distant  to  enable  us  to  stand  on  in  that  direction  some 


144  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

little  time  longer.  This  expedient  succeeded  perfectly  ;  for, 
when  we  found  it  necessary  to  tack  again,  day  began  to 
dawn.  Shortly  after,  we  could  just  discern  the  West-India- 
man  and  the  lugger  standing  off  the  land,  making  the  best 
of  their  way  towards  the  French  coast.  In  1799,  it  is  pos 
sible  that  this  bold  Frenchman  got  his  prize  into  some  of  his 
own  ports,  though  three  or  four  years  later  it  would  have 
been  a  nearly  hopeless  experiment.  As  for  the  Amanda, 
she  was  safe ;  and  Nelson  did  not  feel  happier,  after  his 
great  achievement  at  the  Nile,  than  I  felt  at  the  success  of 
my  own  expedient.  Talcott  congratulated  me  and  applauded 
me ;  and  I  believe  all  of  us  were  a  little  too  much  disposed 
to  ascribe  to  our  own  steadiness  and  address,  much  that 
ought  fairly  to  have  been  imputed  to  chance. 

Off  Dover  we  got  a  pilot,  and  learned  that  the  ship  cap 
tured  was  the  Dorothea,  a  valuable  West-Indiaman  that  had 
stolen  away  from  her  convoy,  and  come  in  alone,  the  pre 
vious  evening.  She  anchored  under  Dungeness  at  the  first 
of  the  ebb,  and,  it  seems,  had  preferred  taking  a  good  night's 
rest  to  venturing  out  in  the  dark,  when  the  flood  made.  Her 
berth  was  a  perfectly  snug  one,  and  the  lugger  would  pro 
bably  never  have  found  her,  had  we  not  led  her  directly  in 
upon  her  prey. 

I  was  now  relieved  from  all  charge  of  the  brig  ;  and  a 
relief  I  found  it,  between  shoals,  enemies,  and  the  tides,  of 
which  I  knew  nothing.  That  day  we  got  into  the  Downs, 
and  came-to.  Here  I  saw  a  fleet  at  anchor ;  arid  a  pretty 
stir  it  made  among  the  man-of-war's-men,  when  our  story 
was  repeated  among  them.  I  do  think  twenty  of  their  boats 
were  alongside  of  us,  to  get  the  facts  from  the  original 
source.  Among  others  who  thus  appeared,  to  question  me, 
was  one  old  gentleman,  whom  I  suspected  of  being  an  ad 
miral.  He  was  in  shore-dress,  and  came  in  a  plain  way ; 
the  men  in  his  boat  declining  to  answer  any  questions ;  but 
they  paid  him  unusual  respect.  This  gentleman  asked  me 
a  great  many  particulars,  and  I  told  him  the  whole  story 
frankly,  concealing  or  colouring  nothing.  He  was  evidently 
much  interested.  When  he  went  away,  he  shook  me  cor 
dially  by  the  hand,  and  said — "  Young  gentleman,  you  have 
acted  prudently  and  well.  Never  mind  the  grumbling  of 
gome  of  our  lads ;  they  think  only  of  themselves,  Jt  was 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  145 

your  right  and  your  duty  to  save  your  own  vessel,  if  you 
could,  without  doing  anything  dishonourable;  and  I  see 
nothing  wrong  in  your  conduct.  But  it's  a  sad  disgrace  to 
us,  to  let  these  French  rascals  be  picking  up  their  crumbs 
in  this  fashion,  right  under  our  hawse-holes." 


CHAPTER   X. 

"  How  pleasant  and  how  sad  the  turning  tide 
Of  human  life,  when  side  by  side 
The  child  and  youth  begin  to  glide 
Along  the  vale  of  years : 
The  pure  twin-being  for  a  little  space, 
With  lightsome  heart,  and  yet  a  graver  face, 
Too  young  for  woe,  though  not  for  tears." 

ALLSTON. 

WITH  what  interest  and  deference  most  Americans  of  any 
education  regarded  England,  her  history,  laws  and  institu 
tions,  in  1799  !  There  were  a  few  exceptions — warm  poli 
tical  partisans,  and  here  and  there  an  individual  whose  feel 
ings  had  become  embittered  by  some  particular  incident  of 
the  revolution — but  surprisingly  few,  when  it  is  recollected 
that  the  country  was  only  fifteen  years  from  the  peace.  I 
question  if  there  ever  existed  another  instance  of  as  strong 
provincial  admiration  for  the  capital,  as  independent  America 
manifested  for  the  mother  country,  in  spite  of  a  thousand 
just  grievances,  down  to  the  period  of  the  war  of  1812.  I 
was  no  exception  to  the  rule,  nor  was  Talcott.  Neither  of 
us  had  ever  seen  England  before  we  made  the  Lizard  on 
this  voyage,  except  through  our  minds'  eyes ;  and  these  had 
presented  quantities  of  beauties  and  excellencies  that  cer 
tainly  vanished  on  a  nearer  approach.  By  this  I  merely 
mean  that  we  had  painted  in  too  high  colours,  as  is  apt  to 
be  the  case  when  the  imagination  holds  the  pencil ;  not  that 
there  was  any  unusual  absence  of  things  worthy  to  be  com 
mended.  On  the  contrary,  even  at  this  late  hour,  I  consider 
England  as  a  model  for  a  thousand  advantages,  even  to  our 
13 


146  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

own  inappreciable  selves.  Nevertheless,  much  delusion  was 
blended  with  our  admiration. 

English  history  was  virtually  American  history;  and 
everything  on  the  land,  as  we  made  our  way  towards  town, 
which  the  pilot  could  point  out,  was  a  source  of  amusement 
and  delight.  We  had  to  tide  it  up  to  London,  and  had  plenty 
of  leisure  to  see  all  there  was  to  be  seen.  The  Thames  is 
neither  a  handsome,  nor  a  very  magnificent  river ;  but  it 
was  amazing  to  witness  the  number  of  vessels  that  then 
ascended  or  descended  it.  There  was  scarce  a  sort  of  craft 
known  to  Christendom,  a  few  of  the  Mediterranean  excepted, 
that  was  not  to  be  seen  there ;  and  as  for  the  colliers,  we 
drifted  through  a  forest  of  them  that  seemed  large  enough 
to  keep  the  town  a  twelvemonth  in  fire-wood,  by  simply 
burning  their  spars.  The  manner  in  which  the  pilot  han 
dled  our  brig,  too,  among  the  thousand  ships  that  lay  in 
tiers  on  each  side  of  the  narrow  passage  we  had  to  thread, 
was  perfectly  surprising  to  me ;  resembling  the  management 
of  a  coachman  in  a  crowded  thoroughfare,  more  than  the 
ordinary  working  of  a  ship.  I  can  safely  say  I  learned 
more  in  the  Thames,  in  the  way  of  keeping  a  vessel  in  com 
mand,  and  in  doing  what  I  pleased  with  her,  than  in  the 
whole  of  my  voyage  to  Canton  and  back  again.  As  for 
Neb,  he  rolled  his  dark  eyes  about  in  wonder,  and  took  an 
occasion  to  say  to  me — "  He  '11  make  her  talk,  Masser  Miles, 
afore  he  have  done."  I  make  no  doubt  the  navigation  from 
the  Forelands  to  the  bridges,  as  it  was  conducted  thirty 
years  since,  had  a  great  influence  on  the  seamanship  of  the 
English.  Steamers  are  doing  away  with  much  of  this  prac 
tice,  though  the  colliers  still  have  to  rely  on  themselves. 
Coals  will  scarcely  pay  for  tugging. 

I  had  been  directed  by  Captain  Williams  to  deliver  the 
brig  to  her  original  consignee,  an  American  merchant  esta- 
blished  in  the  modern  Babylon,  reserving  the  usual  claim 
for  salvage.  This  I  did,  and  that  gentleman  sent  hands  on 
board  to  take  charge  of  the  vessel,  relieving  me  entirely  from 
all  farther  responsibility.  As  the  captain  in  his  letter  had, 
inadvertently  I  trust,  mentioned  that  he  hac1  put  "  Mr.  Wal- 
lingford,  his  third  mate,"  in  charge,  I  got  no  invitation  to 
dinner  from  the  consignee ;  though  the  affair  of  the  capture 
under  Dungeness  found  its  way  into  the  papers,  via  Deal,  I 


A7LOAT     AND     ASHORE.  147 

have  always  thought,  with  the  usual  caption  of  "  Yankee 
Trick."  Yankee  trick !  This  phrase,  so  often  carelessly 
used,  has  probably  done  a  great  deal  of  harm  in  this  country. 
The  young  and  ambitious — there  are  all  sorts  of  ambition, 
and,  among  others,  that  of  being  a  rogue ;  as  a  proof  of 
which,  one  daily  hears  people  call  envy,  jealousy,  covetous- 
ness,  avarice,  and  half  of  the  meaner  vices,  ambition — the 
young  and  ambitious,  then,  of  this  country,  too  often  think 
to  do  a  good  thing,  that  shall  have  some  of  the  peculiar 
merit  of  a  certain  other  good  thing  that  they  have  heard 
laughed  at  and  applauded,  under  this  designation.  I  can 
account  in  no  other  manner  for  the  great  and  increasing 
number  of  "  Yankee  tricks"  that  are  of  daily  occurrence 
among  us.  Among  other  improvements  in  taste,  not  to  say 
in  morals,  that  might  be  introduced  into  the  American  press, 
would  be  the  omission  of  the  histories  of  these  rare  inven 
tions.  As  two-thirds  of  the  editors  of  the  whole  country, 
however,  are  Yankees,  I  suppose  they  must  be  permitted  to 
go  on  exulting  in  the  cleverness  of  their  race.  We  are 
indebted  to  the  Puritan  stock  for  most  of  our  instructors- 
editors  and  school-masters — and  when  one  coolly  regards 
the  prodigious  progress  of  the  people  in  morals,  public  and 
private  virtue,  honesty,  and  other  estimable  qualities,  he 
must  indeed  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  our  masters  so  early 
discovered  "  a  church  without  a  bishop." 

I  had  an  opportunity,  while  in  London,  however,  of  ascer 
taining  that  the  land  of  our  fathers,  which  by  the  way  has 
archbishops,  contains  something  besides  an  unalloyed  virtue 
in  its  bosom.  At  Gravesend  we  took  on  board  two  custom 
house  officers,  (they  always  set  a  rogue  to  watch  a  rogue,  in 
the  English  revenue  system,)  and  they  remained  in  the  brig 
until  she  was  discharged.  One  of  these  men  had  been  a 
gentleman's  servant,  and  he  owed  his  place  to  his  former 
master's  interest.  He  was  a  miracle  of  custom-house  inte 
grity  and  disinterestedness,  as  I  discovered  in  the  first  hour 
of  our  intercourse.  Perceiving  a  lad  of  eighteen  in  charge 
of  the  prize,  and  ignorant  that  this  lad  had  read  a  good  deal 
of  Latin  and  Greek  under  excellent  Mr.  Hardinge,  besides 
being  the  heir  of  Clawbonny,  I  suppose  he  fancied  he  would 
have  an  easy  time  with  him.  This  man's  name  was  Swee 
ney  Perceiving1  in  me  an  eager  desire  to  see  everything, 


148  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

the  brig  was  no  sooner  at  her  moorings,  than  he  proposed  a 
cruise  ashore.  It  was  Sweeney  who  showed  me  the  way 
to  the  consignee's,  and,  that  business  accomplished,  he  pro 
posed  that  we  should  proceed  on  and  take  a  look  at  St. 
Paul's,  the  Monument,  and,  as  hs  gradually  found  my  tastes 
more  intellectual  than  he  had  at  first  supposed,  the  wonders 
of  the  West  End.  I  was  nearly  a  week  under  the  pilotage 
of  the  "Admirable  Sweeney."  After  showing  me  the  exteriors 
of  all  the  things  of  mark  about  the  town,  and  the  interiors 
of  a  few  that  I  was  disposed  to  pay  for,  he  descended  in  his 
tastes,  and  carried  me  through  Wapping,  its  purlieus  and  its 
scenes  of  atrocities.  I  have  always  thought  Sweeney  was 
sounding  me,  and  hoping  to  ascertain  my  true  character,  by 
the  course  he  took ;  and  that  he  betrayed  his  motives  in  a 
proposition  which  he  finally  made,  and  which  brought  our 
intimacy  to  a  sudden  close.  The  result,  however,  was  to 
let  me  into  secrets  I  should  probably  have  never  learned  in 
any  other  manner.  Still,  I  had  read  and  heard  too  much  to 
be  easily  duped  ;  and  I  kept  myself  not  only  out  of  the  power 
of  my  tempter,  but  out  of  the  power  of  all  that  could  injure 
me,  remaining  simply  a  curious  observer  of  what  was  placed 
before  my  eyes.  Good  Mr.  Hardinge's  lessons  were  not 
wholly  forgotten ;  I  could  run  away  from  him,  much  easier 
than  from  his  precepts. 

I  shall  never  forget  a  visit  I  made  to  a  house  called  the 
Black  Horse,  in  St.  Catherine's  Lane.  This  last  was  a 
narrow  street  that  ran  across  the  site  of  the  docks  that  now 
bear  the  same  name ;  and  it  was  the  resort  of  all  the  local 
infamy  of  Wapping.  I  say  local  infamy ;  for  there  were 
portions  of  the  West  End  that  were  even  worse  than  any- 
thing  which  a  mere  port  could  produce.  Commerce,  that 
parent  of  so  much  that  is  useful  to  man,  has  its  dark  side  as 
everything  else  of  earth  ;  and,  among  its  other  evils,  it  drags 
after  it  a  long  train  of  low  vice ;  but  this  train  is  neither  so 
Ions;  nor  so  broad  as  that  which  is  chained  to  the  chariot- 
wheels  of  the  great.  Appearances  exceptcd,  and  they  are 
far  less  than  might  be  expected,  I  think  the  West  End  could 
beat  Wapping  out  and  out,  in  every  essential  vice;  and,  if 
St.  Giles  be  taken  into  the  account,  I  know  of  no  salvo  in 
favour  of  the  land  over  the  sea. 

Our  visit  to  >he  Black  Horse  was  paid  of  a  Sunday,  that 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  149 

being  the  leisure  moment  of  all  classes  of  labourers,  and  the 
day  when,  being  attired  in  their  best,  they  fancied  themselves 
best  prepared  to  appear  in  the  world.  I  will  here  remark, 
that  I  have  never  been  in  any  portion  of  Christendom  that 
keeps  the  Sabbath  precisely  as  it  is  kept  in  America.  In  all 
other  countries,  even  the  most  rigorously  severe  in  their 
practices,  it  is  kept  as  a  day  of  recreation  and  rest,  as  well 
as  of  public  devotion.  Even  in  the  American  towns,  the 
old  observances  are  giving  way  before  the  longings  or  weak- 
nesses  of  human  nature ;  and  Sunday  is  no  longer  what  it 
was.  I  have  witnessed  scenes  of  brawling,  blasphemy  and 
rude  tumult,  in  the  suburbs  of  New  York,  on  Sundays, 
within  the  last  few  years,  that  I  have  never  seen  in  any 
other  part  of  the  world  on  similar  occasions ;  and  serious 
doubts  of  the  expediency  of  the  high-pressure  principle  have 
beset  me,  whatever  may  be  the  just  constructions  of  doctrine. 
With  the  last  I  pretend  not  to  meddle ;  but,  in  a  worldly 
point  of  view,  it  would  seem  wise,  if  you  cannot  make  men 
all  that  they  ought  to  be,  to  aim  at  such  social  regulations 
as  shall  make  them  as  little  vile  as  possible.  But,  to  return 
to  the  Black  Horse  in  St.  Catherine's  Lane — a  place  whose 
very  name  was  associated  with  vileness. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  speak  of  the  characters  of  its  female 
visiters.  Most  of  them  were  young,  many  of  them  were 
still  blooming  and  handsome,  but  all  of  them  were  aban 
doned.  "I  need  tell  you  nothing  of  these  girls,"  said  Sweeney, 
who  was  a  bit  of  a  philosopher  in  his  way,  ordering  a  pot  of 
beer,  and  motioning  me  to  take  a  seat  at  a  vacant  table — • 
"  but,  as  for  the  men  you  see  here,  half  are  house-breakers 
and  pickpockets,  come  to  pass  the  day  genteelly  among  you 
gentlemen-sailors.  There  are  two  or  three  faces  here  that 
I  have  seen  at  the  Old  Bailey,  myself;  and  how  they  have 
remained  in  the  country,  is  more  than  I  can  tell  you.  You 
perceive  these  fellows  are  just  as  much  at  their  ease,  and  the 
landlord  who  receives  and  entertains  them  is  just  as  much 
at  his  ease,  as  if  the  whole  party  were  merely  honest  men." 

"  How  happens  it,"  I  asked,  "  that  such  known  rogues 
are  allowed  to  go  at  large,  or  that  this  inn-keeper  dares 
receive  them  ?" 

"  Oh  !  you  're  a  child  yet,  or  you  would  not  ask  such  a 
question  !  You  must  know,  Master  Wallingford,  that  the 
13* 


150  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

law  protects  rogues  as  well  as  honest  men.  To  convict  a 
pickpocket,  you  must  have  witnesses  and  jurors  to  agree,  and 
prosecutors,  and  a  sight  of  things  that  are  not  as  plenty  as 
pocket-handkerchiefs,  or  even  wallets  and  Bank  of  England 
notes.  Besides,  these  fellows  can  prove  an  alibi  any  day  in 
the  week.  An  alibi,  you  must  know " 

"  I  know  very  well  what  an  alibi  means,  Mr.  Sweeney." 

"  The  deuce  you  do !"  exclaimed  the  protector  of  the 
king's  revenue,  eyeing  me  a  little  distrustfully.  "  And  pray 
how  should  one  as  young  as  you,  and  coming  from  a  new 
country  like  America,  know  that?" 

"  Oh  !"  said  I,  laughing,  "  America  is  just  the  country  for 
alibis  —  everybody  is  everywhere,  and  nobody  anywhere. 
The  whole  nation  is  in  motion,  and  there  is  every  imagina 
bly  opportunity  for  alibis. 

I  believe  I  owed  the  development  of  Sweeney's  "  ulterior 
views"  to  this  careless  speech.  He  had  no  other  idea  of  the 
word  than  its  legal  signification ;  and  it  must  have  struck 
him  as  a  little  suspicious  that  one  of  my  apparent  condition 
in  life,  and  especially  of  my  years,  should  be  thus  early 
instructed  in  the  meaning  of  this  very  useful  professional 
term.  It  was  a  minute  before  he  spoke  again,  having  been 
all  that  lime  studying  my  countenance. 

"  And  pray,  Master  Wallingford,"  he  then  inquired,  "  do 
you  happen  to  know  what  nolle  proseqvi  means,  too  ?" 

"  Certainly  ;  it  means  to  give  up  the  chase.  The  French 
lugger  under  Dungeness  entered  a  nolle  prosequi  as  respects 
my  brig,  when  she  found  her  hands  full  of  the  West-India- 
man." 

"  So,  so ;  I  find  I  have  been  keeping  company  all  this 
time  with  a  knowing  one,  and  I  such  a  simpleton  as  to  fancy 
him  green  !  Well,  that  I  should  live  to  be  done  by  a  raw 
Jonathan !" 

"  Poh,  poh,  Mr.  Sweeney,  I  can  tell  you  a  story  of  two 
of  our  naval  officers,  that  took  place  just  before  we  sailed ; 
and  then  you  will  learn  that  all  hands  of  us,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Big  Pond,  understand  Latin.  One  of  these 
officers  had  been  engaged  in  a  duel,  and  he  found  it  neces 
sary  to  lie  hid.  A  friend  and  shipmate,  who  was  in  his 
secret,  came  one  day  in  a  great  hurry  to  tell  him  that  the 
authorities  of  the  State  in  which  the  parties  fought  had 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  151 

entered  a  nolle  prosequi"  against  the  offenders.  He  had 
a  newspaper  with  the  whole  thing  in  it,  in  print.  «*  What 's 
a  nolle  prosequi,  Jack  1"  asked  Tom.  "  Why,  it 's  Latin, 
to  be  sure,  and  it  means  some  infernal  thing  or  other.  We 
must  contrive  to  find  out,  for  it 's  half  the  battle  to  know  who 
and  what  you  Ve  got  to  face."  "  Well,  you  know  lots  of 
lawyers,  and  dare  show  your  face ;  so,  just  step  out  and  ask 
one."  "I'll  trust  no  lawyer;  I  might  put  the  question  to 
some  chap  who  has  been  fee'd.  But  we  both  studied  a  little 
Latin  when  boys,  and  between  us  we  '11  undermine  the  mean 
ing."  Tom  assented,  and  to  work  they  went.  Jack  had 
the  most  Latin ;  but,  do  all  he  could,  he  was  not  able  to  find 
a  "  nolle"  in  any  dictionary.  After  a  great  deal  of  conjec 
ture,  the  friends  agreed  it  must  be  the  root  of  "  knowledge," 
and  that  point  was  settled.  As  for  "prosequi"  it  was  not 
so  difficult,  as  "  sequor"  was  a  familiar  word ;  and,  after 
some  cogitation,  Jack  announced  his  discoveries.  "  If  this 
thing  were  in  English,  now,"  he  said,  "  a  fellow  might  un 
derstand  it.  In  that  case,  I  should  say  that  the  sheriff's 
men  were  in  "  pursuit  of  knowledge ;"  that  is,  hunting  after 
you  ;  but  Latin,  you  remember,  was  always  an  inverted  sort 
of  stuff,  and  that  *  pro'  alters  the  whole  signification.  The 
paper  says  they  Ve  l  entered  a  nolle  prosequi  /'  and  the 
*  entered'  explains  the  whole.  *  Entered  a  nolle'  means, 
have  entered  on  the  knowledge,  got  a  scent ;  you  see  it  is 
law  English ;  *  pro'  means  l  how,'  and  *  sequi,'  '  to  give 
chase.'  The  amount  of  it  all  is,  Tom,  that  they  are  on  your 
heels,  and  I  must  go  to  work  and  send  you  off,  at  once,  two 
or  three  hundred  miles  into  the  interior,  where  you  may 
laugh  at  them  and  their  *  nolle  prosequis'  together."* 

Sweeney  laughed  heartily  at  this  story,  though  he  clearly 
did  not  take  the  joke,  which  I  presume  he  fancied  lay  con 
cealed  under  an  American  flash  language ;  and  he  proposed 
by  way  of  finishing  the  day,  to  carry  me  to  an  entertainment 
where,  he  gave  me  to  understand,  American  officers  were 
fond  of  sometimes  passing  a  few  minutes.  I  was  led  to  a 
Wapping  assembly-room,  on  entering  which  I  found  myself 
in  a  party  composed  of  some  forty  or  fifty  cooks  and  stew 
ards  of  American  vessels,  all  as  black  as  their  own  pots; 

*  There  is  said  to  be  foundation  for  this  story. 


152  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

with  partners  of  the  usual  colour  and  bloom  of  English  girls 
I  have  as  few  prejudices  of  colour  as  any  American  well  can 
have  ;  but  I  will  confess  this  scene  struck  me  as  being  pain 
fully  out  of  keeping.  In  England,  however,  nothing  seemed 
to  be  thought  of  it ;  and  I  afterwards  found  that  marriages 
between  English  women,  and  men  of  all  the  colours  of  the 
rainbow,  were  very  common  occurrences. 

When  he  had  given  me  this  ball  as  the  climax  of  his  com 
pliments,  Sweeney  betrayed  the  real  motive  of  all  his  atten 
tions.  After  drinking  a  pot  of  beer  extra,  well  laced  with 
gin,  he  offered  his  services  in  smuggling  anything  ashore 
that  the  Amanda  might  happen  to  contain,  and  which  I,  as 
the  prize-master,  might  feel  a  desire  to  appropriate  to  my 
own  particular  purposes.  I  met  the  proposal  with  a  little 
warmth,  letting  my  tempter  understand  that  I  considered  his 
offer  so  near  an  insult,  that  it  must  terminate  our  acquaint 
ance.  The  man  seemed  astounded.  In  the  first  place,  he 
evidently  thought  all  goods  and  chattels  were  made  to  be 
plundered,  and  then  he  was  of  opinion  that  plundering  was 
a  very  common  "  Yankee  trick."  Had  I  been  an  English 
man,  he  might  possibly  have  understood  my  conduct ;  but, 
with  him,  it  was  so  much  a  habit  to  fancy  an  American  a 
rogue,  that,  as  I  afterwards  discovered,  he  was  trying  to  per 
suade  the  leader  of  a  press-gang  that  I  was  the  half-educated 
and  illegitimate  son  of  some  English  merchant,  who  wished 
to  pass  himself  off  for  an  American.  I  pretend  not  to  ac 
count  for  the  contradiction,  though  I  have  often  met  with 
the  same  moral  phenomena  among  his  countrymen ;  but 
here  was  as  regular  a  rogue  as  ever  cheated,  who  pretended 
to  think  roguery  indigenous  to  certain  nations,  among  whom 
his  own  was  not  included. 

At  length  I  was  cheered  with  the  sight  of  the  Crisis,  as 
she  came  drifting  through  the  tiers,  turning,  and  twisting, 
and  glancing  along,  just  as  the  Amanda  had  done  before 
her.  The  pilot  carried  her  to  moorings  quite  near  us ;  and 
Talcott,  Neb  and  I  were  on  board  her,  before  she  was  fairly 
secured.  My  reception  was  very  favourable,  Captain  Wil 
liams  having  seen  the  account  of  the  "  Yankee  trick"  in  the 
papers;  and,  understanding  the  thing  just  as  it  had  happened, 
he  placed  ths  most  advantageous  construction  on  all  I  had 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  153 

done.  For  myself,  I  confess  I  never  had  any  misgivings  on 
the  subject. 

All  hands  of  us  were  glad  to  be  back  in  the  Crisis  again. 
Captain  Williams  had  remained  at  Falmouth  longer  than  he 
expected,  to  make  some  repairs  that  could  not  be  thoroughly 
completed  at  sea,  which  alone  prevented  him  from  getting 
into  the  river  as  soon  as  I  did  myself.  Now  the  ship  was 
in,  we  no  longer  felt  any  apprehension  of  being  impressed, 
Sweeney's  malignancy  having  set  several  of  the  gang  upon 
the  scent  after  us.  Whether  the  fellow  actually  thought  I 
was  an  English  subject  or  not,  is  more  than  I  ever  knew  ; 
but  I  felt  no  disposition  myself  to  let  the  point  be  called  in 
question,  before  my  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  a  Rendezvous. 
The  King's  Bench  was  more  governed  by  safe  principles,  in 
its  decisions,  than  the  gentlemen  who  presided  in  these  ma 
rine  courts  of  the  British  navy. 

As  I  was  the  only  officer  in  the  ship  who  had  ever  seen 
anything  of  London,  my  fortnight's  experience  made  me 
a  notable  man  in  the  cabin.  It  was  actually  greater  prefer 
ment  for  me  than  when  I  was  raised  from  third  to  be  second- 
mate.  Marble  was  all  curiosity  to  see  the  English  capital, 
and  he  made  me  promise  to  be  his  pilot,  as  soon  as  duty 
would  allow  time  for  a  stroll,  and  to  show  him  everything  I 
had  seen  myself.  We  soon  got  out  the  cargo,  and  then  took 
in  ballast  for  our  North-West  voyage ;  the  articles  we  in 
tended  to  traffic  with  on  the  coast,  being  too  few  and  too 
light  to  fill  the  ship.  This  kept  us  busy  for  a  fortnight, 
after  which  we  had  to  look  about  us  to  obtain  men  to  supply 
the  places  of  those  who  had  been  killed,  or  sent  away  in  la 
Dame  de  Nantes.  Of  course  we  preferred  Americans  ;  and 
this  so  much  the  more,  as  Englishmen  were  liable  to  be 
pressed  at  any  moment.  Fortunately,  a  party  of  men  that 
had  been  taken  out  of  an  American  ship,  a  twelvemonth 
before,  by  an  English  cruiser,  had  obtained  their  discharges  ; 
and  they  all  came  to  London,  for  the  double  purpose  of  get 
ting  some  prize-money,  and  of  obtaining  passages  home. 
These  lads  were  pleased  with  the  Crisis  and  the  voyage ; 
and,  instead  of  returning  to  their  own  country,  sailor-like, 
they  took  service  to  go  nearly  round  the  world.  These 
were  first-rate  men — Delaware-river  seamen — and  proved  a 
great  accession  to  our  force.  We  owed  the  windfall  to  the 


154  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

reputation  the  ship  had  obtained  by  her  affairs  with  the  letter- 
of-marque;  an  account  of  which,  copied  from  the  log-book, 
and  a  little  embellished  by  some  one  on  shore,  the  consignee 
had  taken  care  should  appear  in  the  journals.  The  history 
of  the  surprise,  in  particular,  read  very  well ;  and  the  Eng 
lish  were  in  a  remarkably  good  humour,  at  that  time,  to 
receive  an  account  of  any  discomfiture  of  a  Frenchman. 
At  no  period  since  the  year  1775,  had  the  American  cha 
racter  stood  so  high  in  England  as  it  did  just  then ;  the  two 
nations,  for  a  novelty,  fighting  on  the  same  side.  Not  long 
after  we  left  London,  the  underwriters  at  Lloyd's  actually 
voted  a  handsome  compliment  to  an  American  commander 
for  capturing  a  French  frigate.  Stranger  things  have  hap 
pened  than  to  have  the  day  arrive  when  English  and  Ame 
rican  fleets  may  be  acting  in  concert.  No  one  can  tell  what 
is  in  the  womb  of  time ;  and  I  have  lived  long  enough  to 
know  that  no  man  can  foresee  who  will  continue  to  be  his 
friends,  or  a  nation  what  people  may  become  its  enemies. 

The  Crisis  at  length  began  to  take  in  her  bales  and  boxes 
for  the  North-West  Coast,  and,  as  the  articles  were  received 
slowly,  or  a  few  packages  at  a  time,  it  gave  us  leisure  for 
play.  Our  captain  was  in  such  good  humour  with  us,  on 
account  of  the  success  of  the  outward-bound  passage,  that 
he  proved  very  indulgent.  This  disposition  was  probably 
increased  by  the  circumstance  that  a  ship  arrived  in  a  very 
short  passage  from  New  York,  which  spoke  our  prize ;  all 
well,  with  a  smacking  southerly  breeze,  a  clear  coast,  and  a 
run  of  only  a  few  hundred  miles  to  make.  This  left  the 
almost  moral  certainty  that  la  Dame  de  Nantes  had  arrived 
safe,  no  Frenchman  being  likely  to  trust  herself  on  that 
distant  coast,  which  was  now  alive  with  our  own  cruisers, 
going  to  or  returning  from  the  West  Indies. 

I  had  a  laughable  time  in  showing  Marble  the  sights  of 
London.  We  began  with  the  wild  beasts  in  the  Tower,  as 
in  duty  bound ;  but  of  these  our  mate  spoke  very  dispara 
gingly.  He  had  been  too  often  in  the  East  "  to  be  taken  in 
by  such  animals ;"  and,  to  own  the  truth,  the  cockneys 
were  easily  satisfied  on  the  score  of  their  menagerie.  We 
next  went  to  the  Monument ;  but  this  did  not  please  him. 
He  had  seen  a  shot-tower  in  America — there  was  but  one  in 
that  day — that  beat  it  out  and  out  as  to  height,  and  ho 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  155 

thought  in  beauty,  too.  There  was  no  reasoning  against 
this.  St.  Paul's  rather  confounded  him.  He  frankly  ad 
mitted  there  was  no  such  church  at  Kennebunk ;  though  he 
did  not  know  but  Trinity,  New  York,  "  might  stand  up 
alongside  of  it."  "Stand  up  along  side  of  it!"  I  repeated, 
laughing.  "  Why,  Mr.  Marble,  Trinity,  steeple  and  all, 
could  stand  up  in  it — under  that  dome — and  then  leave  more 
room  in  this  building  than  all  the  other  churches  in  New 
York  contain,  put  altogether." 

It  was  a  long  time  before  Marble  forgave  this  speech.  He 
said  it  was  "  unpatriotic ;"  a  word  which  was  less  used  in 
1799  than  it  is  used  to-day,  certainly  ;  but  which,  neverthe 
less,  was  used.  It  often  meant  then,  as  now,  a  thick  and 
thin  pertinacity  in  believing  in  provincial  marvels ;  and,  in 
this,  Marble  was  one  of  the  most  patriotic  men  with  whom  I 
ever  met.  I  got  him  out  of  the  church,  and  along  Fleet 
street,  through  Temple  Bar,  and  into  the  Strand,  however, 
in  peace ;  and  then  we  emerged  into  the  arena  of  fashion, 
aristocracy  and  the  court.  After  a  time,  we  worked  our  way 
into  Hyde  Park,  where  we  brought  up,  to  make  our  obser 
vations. 

Marble  was  deeply  averse  to  acknowledging  all  the  admi 
ration  he  really  felt  at  the  turn-outs  of  London,  as  they  were 
exhibited  in  the  Park,  of  a  fine  day,  in  their  season.  It  is 
probable  the  world  elsewhere  never  saw  anything  approach 
ing  the  beauty  and  magnificence  that  is  here  daily  seen,  at 
certain  times,  so  far  as  beauty  and  magnificence  are  con 
nected  with  equipages,  including  carriages,  horses  and  ser 
vants.  Unable  to  find  fault  with  the  tout  ensemble,  our  mate 
made  a  violent  attack  on  the  liveries.  He  protested  it  was 
indecent  to  put  a  "  hired  man" — the  word  help  never  being 
applied  to  the  male  sex,  I  believe,  by  the  most  fastidious 
New  England  purist  —  in  a  cocked  hat ;  a  decoration  that 
ought  to  be  exclusively  devoted  to  the  uses  of  ministers  of 
the  gospel,  governors  of  States,  and  militia  officers.  I  had 
some  notions  of  the  habits  of  the  great  world,  through  books, 
and  some  little  learned  by  observation  and  listening ;  but 
Marble  scouted  at  most  of  my  explanations.  He  put  his 
own  construction  on  everything  he  saw ;  and  I  have  often 
thought,  since,  could  the  publishers  of  travels  have  had  the 
benefit  of  his  blunders,  how  many  would  have  profited  by 


156  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

them.  Gentlemen  were  just  then  beginning  to  drive  their 
own  coaches ;  and  I  remember,  in  a  particular  instance,  an 
ultra  in  the  new  mode  had  actually  put  his  coachman  in  the 
inside,  while  he  occupied  the  dickey  in  person.  Such  a 
gross  violation  of  the  proprieties  was  unusual,  even  in  Lon 
don  ;  but  there  sat  Jehu,  in  all  the  dignity  of  cotton-lace, 
plush,  and  a  cocked  hat.  Marble  took  it  into  his  head  that 
this  man  was  the  king,  and  no  reasoning  of  mine  could  per 
suade  him  to  the  contrary.  In  vain  I  pointed  out  to  him  a 
hundred  similar  dignitaries,  in  the  proper  exercise  of  their 
vocation,  on  the  hammer-cloths ;  he  cared  not  a  straw — this 
was  not  showing  him  one  inside ;  and  a  gentleman  inside 
of  a  carriage,  who  wore  so  fine  a  coat,  and  a  cocked  hat  in 
the  bargain,  could  be  nothing  less  than  some  dignitary  of  the 
empire ;  and  why  not  the  king !  Absurd  as  all  this  will 
seem,  I  have  known  mistakes,  connected  with  the  workings 
of  our  own  institutions,  almost  as  great,  made  by  theorists 
from  Europe. 

While  Marble  and  I  were  wrangling  on  this  very  point,  a 
little  incident  occurred,  which  led  to  important  consequences 
in  the  end.  Hackney-coaches,  or  any  other  public  convey 
ance,  short  of  post-chaises  and  post-horses,  are  not  admitted 
into  the  English  parks.  But  glass-coaches  are ;  meaning  by 
this  term,  which  is  never  used  in  America,  hired  carriages 
that  do  not  go  on  the  stands.  We  encountered  one  of  these 
glass-coaches  in  a  very  serious  difficulty.  The  horses  had 
got  frightened  by  means  of  a  wheelbarrow,  aided  probably 
by  some  bad  management  of  the  driver,  and  had  actually 
backed  the  hind-wheels  of  the  vehicle  into  the  water  of  the 
canal.  They  would  have  soon  had  the  whole  carriage  sub 
merged,  and  have  followed  it  themselves,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  chief-mate  and  myself.  I  thrust  the  wheelbarrow  under 
one  of  the  forward-wheels,  just  in  time  to  prevent  the  final 
catastrophe ;  while  Marble  grasped  the  spoke  with  his  iron 
gripe,  and,  together,  he  and  the  wheelbarrow  made  a  resist 
ance  that  counterbalanced  the  backward  tendency  of  the 
team.  There  was  no  footman  ;  and,  springing  to  the  door, 
I  aided  a  sickly-looking,  elderly  man — a  female  who  might 
very  well  have  been  his  wife,  and  another  that  I  took  for  his 
daughter — to  escape.  By  my  agency  all  three  were  put  on 
the  dry  land,  without  even  wetting  their  feet,  though  I  fared 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  157 

worse  myself.  No  sooner  were  they  safe,  than  Marble,  who 
was  up  to  his  shoulders  in  the  water,  and  who  had  made 
prodigious  efforts  to  maintain  the  balance  of  power,  released 
his  hold,  the  wheelbarrow  gave  way  at  the  same  moment, 
and  the  whole  affair,  coach  and  horses,  had  their  will,  and 
went,  stern  foremost,  overboard.  One  of  the  horses  was 
saved,  I  believe,  and  the  other  drowned;  but,  a  crowd  soon 
collecting,  I  paid  little  attention  to  what  was  going  on  in  the 
carriage,  as  soon  as  its  cargo  was  discharged. 

The  gentleman  we  had  saved,  pressed  my  hand  with  fer 
vour,  and  Marble's,  too;  saying  that  we  must  not  quit  him 
— that  we  must  go  home  with  him.  To  this  we  consented, 
readily  enough,  thinking  we  might  still  be  of  use.  As  we 
all  walked  towards  one  of  the  more  private  entrances  of  the 
Park,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  the  people  we  had 
served.  They  were  very  respectable  in  appearance  ;  but  I 
knew  enough  of  the  world  to  see  that  they  belonged  to  what 
.s  called  the  middle  class  in  England.  I  thought  the  man 
might  be  a  soldier ;  while  the  two  females  had  an  air  of 
great  respectability,  though  not  in  the  least  of  fashion.  The 
girl  appeared  to  be  nearly  as  old  as  myself,  and  was  de 
cidedly  pretty.  Here,  then,  was  an  adventure  !  I  had  saved 
the  life  of  a  damsel  of  seventeen,  and  had  only  to  fall  in  love, 
to  become  the  hero  of  a  romance. 

At  the  gate,  the  gentleman  stopped  a  hackney-coach,  put 
the  females  in,  and  desired  us  to  follow.  But  to  this  we 
would  not  consent,  both  being  wet,  and  Marble  particularly 
so.  After  a  short  parley,  he  gave  us  an  address  in  Norfolk 
Street,  Strand ;  and  we  promised  to  stop  there  on  our  way 
back  to  the  ship.  Instead  of  following  the  carriage,  how 
ever,  we  made  our  way  on  foot  into  the  Strand,  where  we 
found  an  eating-house,  turned  in  and  eat  a  hearty  dinner 
each,  the  chief-mate  resorting  to  some  brandy  in  order  to 
prevent  his  taking  cold.  On  what  principle  this  is  done,  I 
cannot  explain,  though  I  know  it  is  often  practised,  and  in 
all  quarters  of  the  world. 

As  soon  as  we  had  dined  and  dried  ourselves,  we  went 
into  Norfolk  street.  We  had  been  told  to  ask  for  Major 
Merton,  and  this  we  did.  The  house  was  one  of  those  plain 
lodging-houses,  of  which  most  of  that  part  of  the  town  is 
composed :  and  we  found  the  Major  and  his  family  in  the 
14 


158  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

occupation  of  the  first  floor,  a  mark  of  gentility  on  which 
some  stress  is  laid  in  England.  It  was  plain  enough,  how 
ever,  to  see  that  these  people  were  not  rolling  in  that  splen 
dour,  of  which  we  had  just  seen  so  much  in  the  Park. 

"  I  can  trace  the  readiness  and  gallantry  of  the  English 
tar  in  your  conduct,"  observed  the  Major,  after  he  had  given 
us  both  quite  as  warm  a  reception  as  circumstances  required, 
at  the  same  time  taking  out  his  pocket-book,  and  turning 
over  some  bank-notes.  "  I  wish,  for  your  sakes,  I  was  better 
able  than  I  am  to  reward  you  for  what  you  have  done ;  but 
twenty  pounds  is  all  I  can  now  offer.  At  some  other  time, 
circumstances  may  place  it  in  my  power  to  give  further  and 
better  proofs  of  my  gratitude." 

As  this  was  said,  the  Major  held  two  ten-pound  notes 
towards  Marble,  doubtless  intending  that  I  should  receive 
one  of  them,  as  a  fair  division  of  the  spoils.  Now,  accord 
ing  to  all  theory,  and  the  established  opinion  of  the  Christian 
world,  America  is  the  avaricious  country ;  the  land,  of  all 
others,  in  which  men  are  the  most  greedy  of  gain ;  in  which 
human  beings  respect  gold  more,  and  themselves  less,  than 
in  any  other  portion  of  this  globe.  I  never  dispute  anything 
that  is  settled  by  the  common  consent  of  my  fellow-crea 
tures,  for  the  simple  reason  that  I  know  the  decision  must 
be  against  me ;  so  I  will  concede  that  money  is  the  great 
end  of  American  life — that  there  is  little  else  to  live  for,  in 
the  great  model  republic.  Politics  have  fallen  into  such 
hands,  that  office  will  not  even  give  social  station ;  the  peo 
ple  are  omnipotent,  it  is  true ;  but,  though  they  can  make  a 
governor,  they  cannot  make  gentlemen  and  ladies;  even 
kings  are  sometimes  puzzled  to  do  that ;  literature,  arms, 
arts,  and  fame  of  all  sorts,  are  unattainable  in  their  rewards, 
among  us  as  in  other  nations,  leaving  the  puissant  dollar  in 
its  undisturbed  ascendency ;  still,  as  a  rule,  twenty  Euro 
peans  can  be  bought  with  two  ten-pound  Bank  of  England 
notes,  much  easier  than  two  Americans.  I  leave  others  to 
explain  the  phenomenon;  I  only  speak  of  the  fact. 

Marble  listened  to  the  Major's  speech  with  great  attention 
and  respect,  fumbling  in  his  pocket  for  his  tobacco-box,  the 
whole  time.  The  box  was  opened  just  as  the  Major  ended, 
and  even  I  began  to  be  afraid  that  the  well-known  cupidity 
of  Kennebunk  was  about  to  give  way  before  the  temptation, 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  150 

and  the  notes  were  to  be  stowed  alongside  of  the  tobacco  • 
but  I  was  mistaken.  Deliberately  helping  himself  to  a  quid» 
the  chief-mate  shut  the  box  again,  and  then  he  made  his 
reply. 

"  Quite  ginerous  in  you,  Major,"  he  said,  "  and  all  ship 
shape  and  right.  I  like  to  see  things  done  just  in  that  way. 
Put  up  the  money  ;  we  thank  you  as  much  as  if  we  could 
take  it,  and  that  squares  all  accounts.  I  would  just  men 
tion,  however,  to  prevent  mistakes,  as  the  other  idee  might 
get  us  impressed,  that  this  young  man  and  I  are  both  born 
Americans — he  from  up  the  Hudson  somewhere,  and  I  from 
York  city,  itself,  though  edicated  down  east." 

"  Americans  !"  resumed  the  Major,  drawing  himself  up  a 
little  stiffly ;  "  then  ycm,  young  man,"  turning  to  me,  and 
holding  out  the  notes,  of  which  he  now  seemed  as  anxious 
to  be  rid,  as  I  had  previously  fancied  he  was  sorry  to  see 
go — "  you  will  do  me  the  favour  to  accept  of  this  small  token 
of  my  gratitude." 

"  It  is  quite  impossible,  sir,"  I  answered,  respectfully. 
"  We  are  not  exactly  what  we  seem,  and  you  are  probably 
deceived  by  our  roundabouts ;  but  we  are  the  first  and  second 
officers  of  a  letter-of-marque." 

At  the  word  "  officers,"  the  Major  drew  back  his  hand, 
and  hastily  apologised.  He  did  not  understand  us  even  then, 
I  could  plainly  see;  but  he  had  sufficient  sagacity  to  under 
stand  that  his  money  would  not  be  accepted.  We  were 
invited  to  sit  down,  and  the  conversation  continued. 

"  Master  Miles,  there,"  resumed  Marble,  "  has  an  estate, 
a  place  called  Clawbonny,  somewhere  up  the  Hudson ;  and 
he  has  no  business  to  be  sailing  about  the  world  in  jacket 
and  trowsers,  when  he  ought  to  be  studying  law,  or  trying 
his  hand  at  college.  But  as  the  old  cock  crows,  the  young 
'un  Tarns ;  his  father  was  a  sailor  before  him,  and  I  sup 
pose  that 's  the  reason  on 't." 

This  announcement  of  my  position  ashore  did  me  no 
harm,  and  I  could  see  a  change  in  the  deportment  of  the 
whole  family — not  that  it  had  ever  treated  me  haughtily,  or 
even  coldly ;  but  it  now  regarded  me  as  more  on  a  level 
with  itself.  We  remained  an  hour  with  the  Mertons,  and  I 
promised  to  repeat  the  call  before  we  sailed.  This  I  did  a 
dozen  times,  at  least ;  and  the  Major,  finding,  I  suppose,  that 


160  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

he  had  a  tolerably  well-educated  youth  to  deal  with,  was  of 
great  service  in  putting  me  in  a  better  way  of  seeing  Lon 
don.  I  went  to  both  theatres  with  the  family,  taking  care  to 
appear  in  a  well-made  suit  of  London  clothes,  in  which  I 
made  quite  as  respectable  a  figure  as  most  of  the  young  men 
I  saw  in  the  streets.  Even  Emily  smiled  when  she  first  saw 
me  in  my  long-togs,  and  I  thought  she  blushed.  She  was 
a  pretty  creature ;  gentle  and  mild  in  her  ordinary  deport 
ment,  but  full  of  fire  and  spirit  at  the  bottom,  as  I  could  see 
by  her  light,  blue,  English  eye.  Then  she  had  been  well- 
educated  ;  and,  in  my  young  ignorance  of  life,  I  fancied 
she  knew  more  than  any  girl  of  seventeen  I  had  ever  met 
with.  Grace  and  Lucy  were  both  clever,  and  had  been 
carefully  taught  by  Mr.  Hardinge ;  but  the  good  divine 
could  not  give  two  girls,  in  the  provincial  retirement  of 
America,  the  cultivation  and  accomplishments  that  were 
within  the  reach  of  even  moderate  means  in  England.  To 
me,  Emily  Merton  seemed  a  marvel  in  the  way  of  attain 
ments  ;  and  I  often  felt  ashamed  of  myself,  as  I  sat  at  her 
side,  listening  to  the  natural  and  easy  manner  in  which  she 
alluded  to  things,  of  which  I  then  heard  for  the  first  time. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

«  Boatswain !" 

" Here,  master :  what  cheer?" 
"  Good  :  speak  to  the  mariners ;  fall  to 't 
Yarcly,  or  we  run  ourselves  aground  :  bestir,  bestir." 

Tempest. 

As  Captain  Williams  wished  to  show  me  some  favour  foi 
the  manner  in  which  I  had  taken  care  of  the  brig,  he  al 
lowed  me  as  much  time  ashore  as  I  asked  for.  I  might 
never  see  London  again ;  and,  understanding  I  had  fallen 
into  good  company,  he  threw  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  my 
profiting  by  it.  So  careful  was  he,  indeed,  as  to  get  one  of 
the  consul's  clerks  to  ascertain  who  the  Mertons  were,  lest 
I  should  become  the  dupe  of  the  thousands  of  specious  rogues 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  161 

with  which  London  abounds.  The  report  was  favourable, 
giving  us  to  understand  that  the  Major  had  been  much  em 
ployed  in  the  West  Indies,  where  he  still  held  a  moderately 
lucrative,  semi-military  appointment,  being  then  in  England 
to  settle  certain  long  and  vexatious  accounts,  as  well  as  to 
take  Emily,  his  only  child,  from  school.  He  was  expected 
to  return  to  the  old,  or  some  other  post,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  months.  A  portion  of  this  I  gleaned  from  Emily  her 
self,  and  it  was  all  very  fairly  corroborated  by  the  account 
of  the  consul's  clerk.  There  was  no  doubt  that  the  Mertons 
were  persons  of  respectable  position ;  without  having  any 
claims,  however,  to  be  placed  very  high.  From  the  Major, 
moreover,  I  learned  he  had  some  American  connexions,  his 
father  having  married  in  Boston. 

For  my  part,  I  had  quite  as  much  reason  to  rejoice  at  the 
chance  which  threw  me  in  the  way  of  the  Mertons,  as  they 
had.  If  I  was  instrumental  in  saving  their  lives,  as  was 
undeniably  the  case,  they  taught  me  more  of  the  world,  in 
the  ordinary  social  sense  of  the  phrase,  than  I  had  learned 
in  all  my  previous  life.  I  make  no  pretensions  to  having 
seen  London  society;  that  lay  far  beyond  the  reach  of 
Major  Merton  himself,  who  was  born  the  son  of  a  merchant, 
when  merchants  occupied  a  much  lower  position  in  the  Eng 
lish  social  scale  than  they  do  to-day,  and  had  to  look  to  a 
patron  for  most  of  his  own  advancement.  But,  he  was  a 
gentleman ;  maintained  the  notions,  sentiments,  and  habits 
of  the  caste;  and  was  properly  conscious  of  my  having 
saved  his  life  when  it  was  in  great  jeopardy.  As  for  Emily 
Merton,  she  got  to  converse  with  me  with  the  freedom  of  a 
friend  ;  and  very  pleasant  it  was  to  hear  pretty  thoughts 
expressed  in  pretty  language,  and  from  pretty  lips.  I  could 
perceive  that  she  thought  me  a  little  rustic  and  provincial ; 
but  I  had  not  been  all  the  way  to  Canton  to  be  brow-beaten 
by  a  cockney  girl,  however  clever  and  handsome.  On  the 
whole — and  I  say  it  without  vanity,  at  this  late  day — I  think 
the  impression  left  behind  me,  among  these  good  people,  was 
favourable.  Perhaps  Clawbonny  was  not  without  its  influ 
ence ;  but,  when  I  paid  my  last  visit,  even  Emily  looked 
sorrowful,  and  her  mother  was  pleased  to  say  they  should 
all  miss  me  much.  The  Major  made  me  promise  to  hunt 
him  up,  should  I  ever  be  in  Jamaica,  or  Bombay ;  for  one 
14* 


1G2  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

of  which  places  he  expected  to  sail  himself,  with  his  wifo 
and  daughter,  in  the  course  of  a  few  months.  I  knew  he 
had  had  one  appointment,  thought  he  might  receive  another, 
and  hoped  everything  would  turn  out  for  the  best. 

The  Crisis  sailed  on  her  day  ;  and  she  went  to  sea  from 
the  Downs,  a  week  later,  with  a  smacking  southerly  wind. 
Our  Philadelphians  turned  out  a  noble  set  of  fellows ;  and 
we  had  the  happiness  of  beating  an  English  sloop-of-war, 
just  as  we  got  clear  of  the  channel,  in  a  fair  trial  of  speed. 
To  lessen  our  pride  a  little,  a  two-decker  that  was  going  to 
the  Mediterranean,  treated  us  exactly  in  the  same  manner, 
only  three  days  later.  What  made  this  last  affair  more 
mortifying,  was  the  fact  that  Marble  had  just  satisfied  him 
self,  and  all  hands,  that,  a  sloop-of-war  being  the  fastest 
description  of  vessel,  and  we  having  got  the  better  of  one  of 
them,  it  might  be  fairly  inferred  we  could  outsail  the  whole 
British  navy.  I  endeavoured  to  console  him,  by  reminding 
him  that  "  the  race  was  not  always  to  the  swift."  He  growled 
out  some  sort  of  an  answer,  denouncing  all  sayings,  and 
desiring  to  know  out  of  what  book  I  had  picked  up  that 
nonsense. 

I  have  no  intention  of  dwelling  on  every  little  incident 
that  occurred  on  the  long  road  we  were  now  travelling.  We 
touched  at  Madeira,  and  landed  an  English  family  that  went 
there  for  the  benefit  of  an  invalid ;  got  some  fruit,  fresh  meat 
and  vegetables,  and  sailed  again.  Our  next  stopping-place 
was  Rio,  whither  we  went  for  letters  from  home,  the  captain 
being  taught  to  expect  them.  The  ship's  letters  were  re 
ceived,  and  they  were  filled  with  eulogiums  on  our  good  con 
duct,  having  been  written  after  the  arrival  of  la  Dame  de 
Nantes  ;  but  great  was  my  disappointment  on  finding  there 
was  not  even  a  scrawl  for  myself. 

Our  stay  at  Rio  was  short,  and  we  left  port  with  a  favour 
able  slant  of  wind,  running  as  far  north  as  50°,  in  a  very 
short  lime.  As  we  drew  near  to  the  southern  extremity  of 
the  American  continent,  however,  we  met  with  heavy  wea 
ther  and  foul  winds.  We  were  now  in  the  month  that  cor 
responds  to  November  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  and  had 
to  double  The  Horn  at  that  unpropitious  season  of  the  year, 
going  westward.  There  is  no  part  of  the  world  of  which 
navigators  have  given  accounts  so  conflicting,  as  of  this 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  163 

celebrated  passage.  Each  man  appears  to  have  described 
it  as  he  found  it,  himself,  while  no  two  seem  to  have  found  it 
exactly  alike.  I  do  not  remember  to  have  ever  heard  of 
calms  off  Cape  Horn  ;  but  light  winds  are  by  no  means 
uncommon,  though  tempests  are  undoubtedly  the  predomi 
nant  characteristic.  Our  captain  had  already  been  round 
four  times,  and  he  held  the  opinion  that  the  season  made  no 
difference,  and  that  it  was  better  to  keep  near  the  land.  We 
shaped  our  course  accordingly  for  Staten  Land,  intending 
to  pass  through  the  Straits  of  LeMaire  and  hug  the  Horn, 
as  close  as  possible,  in  doubling  it.  We  made  the  Falkland 
Islands,  or  West  Falkland  rather,  just  as  the  sun  rose,  one 
morning,  bearing  a  little  on  our  weather-quarter,  with  the 
wind  blowing  heavily  at  the  eastward.  The  weather  was 
thick,  and,  what  was  still  worse,  there  was  so  little  day,  and 
no  moon,  that  it  was  getting  to  be  ticklish  work  to  be  stand 
ing  for  a  passage  as  narrow  as  that  we  aimed  at.  Marble 
and  I  talked  the  matter  over,  between  ourselves,  and  wished 
the  captain  could  be  persuaded  to  haul  up,  and  try  to  go  to 
he  eastward  of  the  island,  as  was  still  possible,  with  the 
wind  where  it  was.  Still,  neither  of  us  dared  propose  it ; 
I,  on  account  of  my  youth,  and  the  chief-mate,  as  he  said, 
on  account  of  "  the  old  fellow's  obstinacy."  "  He  likes  to 
be  poking  about  in  such  places,"  Marble  added,  "  and  is 
never  so  happy  as  when  he  is  running  round  the  ocean  in 
places  where  it  is  full  of  unknown  islands,  looking  for  san 
dal  wood,  and  beche-la-mar  !  I  '11  warrant  you,  he  '11  give 
us  a  famous  time  of  it,  if  he  ever  get  us  up  on  the  North- 
West  Coast."  Here  the  consultation  terminated,  we  mates 
believing  it  wiser  to  let  things  take  their  course. 

I  confess  to  having  seen  the  mountains  on  our  weather- 
quarter  disappear,  with  melancholy  forebodings.  There  was 
little  hope  of  getting  any  observation  that  day  ;  and  to  render 
matters  worse,  about  noon,  the  wind  began  to  haul  more  to 
the  southward.  As  it  hauled,  it  increased  in  violence,  until, 
at  midnight,  it  blew  a  gale ;  the  commencement  of  such  a 
tempest  as  I  had  never  witnessed  in  any  of  my  previous 
passages  at  sea.  As  a  matter  of  course,  sail  was  reduced 
as  fast  as  it  became  necessary,  until  we  had  brought  the 
ship  down  to  a  close-reefed  main-top-sail,  the  fore-top-mast 
staysail,  the  fore-course,  and  the  mizen-staysail.  This  was 


164  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

old  fashioned  canvass ;  the  more  recent  spencer  being  i\   a 
unknown. 

Our  situation  was  now  far  from  pleasant.  The  tides  and 
currents,  in  that  high  latitude,  run  with  great  velocity ;  and, 
then,  at  a  moment  when  it  was  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  know  precisely  where  the  ship  was,  we  were  left  to  the 
painful  uncertainty  of  conjectu re,  and  theories  that  might  be- 
very  wide  of  the  truth.  The  captain  had  nerve  enough, 
notwithstanding,  to  keep  on  the  larboard  tack  until  day 
light,  in  the  hope  of  getting  in  sight  of  the  mountains  of 
Terra  del  Fuego.  No  one,  now,  expected  we  should  be 
able  to  fetch  through  the  Straits ;  but  it  would  be  a  great 
yelief  to  obtain  a  sight  of  the  land,  as  it  would  enable  us  to 
get  some  tolerably  accurate  notions  of  our  position.  Daylight 
came  at  length,  but  it  brought  no  certainty.  The  weather 
was  so  thick,  between  a  drizzling  rain,  sea-mist  and  the 
spray,  that  it  was  seldom  we  could  see  a  league  around  us, 
and  frequently  not  half  a  mile.  Fortunately,  the  general 
direction  of  the  eastern  coast  of  Terra  del  Fuego,  is  from 
north-west  to  south-east,  always  giving  us  room  to  ware  off 
shore,  provided  we  did  not  unexpectedly  get  embarrassed  in 
some  one  of  the  many  deep  indentations  of  that  wild  and 
inhospitable  shore. 

Captain  Williams  showed  great  steadiness  in  the  trying 
circumstances  in  which  we  were  placed.  The  ship  was  just 
far  enough  south  to  render  it  probable  she  could  weather 
Falkland  Islands,  on  the  other  tack,  could  we  rely  upon  the 
currents ;  but  it  would  be  ticklish  work  to  undertake  such  a 
thing,  in  the  long,  intensely  dark  nights  we  had,  and  thut 
run  the  risk  of  finding  ourselves  on  a  lee  shore.  He  deter 
mined,  therefore,  to  hold  on  as  long  as  possible,  on  the  tack 
we  were  on,  expecting  to  get  through  another  night,  without 
coming  upon  the  land,  every  hour  now  giving  us  the  hope 
that  we  were  drawing  near  to  the  termination  of  the  gale. 
I  presume  he  felt  more  emboldened  to  pursue  this  course, 
by  the  circumstance  that  the  wind  evidently  inclined  to  haul, 
little  by  little,  more  to  the  southward,  which  was  not  only 
increasing  our  chances  of  laying  past  the  islands,  but  less 
ened  the  danger  from  Terra  del  Fuego. 

Marble  was  exceedingly  uneasy  during  that  second  night. 
He  remained  on  deck  with  me  the  whole  of  the  morning 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  165 

watch ;  not  that  he  distrusted  my  discretion  in  the  least,  but 
because  he  distrusted  the  wind  and  the  land.  I  never  saw 
him  in  so  much  concern  before,  for  it  was  his  habit  to  con 
sider  himself  a  timber  of  the  ship,  that  was  to  sink  or  swim 
with  the  craft. 

"  Miles,"  said  he,  "  you  and  I  know  something  of  these 
*  bloody  currents,'  and  we  know  they  take  a  ship  one  way, 
while  she  looks  as  fiercely  the  other  as  a  pig  that  is  dragged 
aft  by  the  tail.  If  we  had  run  down  the  50th  degree  of 
longitude,  now,  we  might  have  had  plenty  of  sea-room,  and 
been  laying  past  the  Cape,  with  this  very  wind ;  but,  no,  the 
old  fellow  would  have  had  no  islands  in  that  case,  and  he 
never  could  be  happy  without  half-a-dozen  islands  to  bother 
him." 

"  Had  we  run  down  the  50lh  degree  of  longitude,"  I  an 
swered,  "  we  should  have  had  twenty  degrees  to  make  to 
get  round  the  Horn ;  whereas,  could  we  only  lay  through 
the  Straits  of  Le  Maire,  six  or  eight  of  those  very  same 
degrees  would  carry  us  clear  of  everything." 

"Only  lay  through  the  Straits  of  Le  Maire,  on  the  10th 
November,  or  what  is  the  same  thing  in  this  quarter  of  the 
world,  of  May,  and  with  less  than  nine  hours  of  day-light ! 
And  such  day-light,  too !  Why,  our  Newfoundland  fogs, 
such  stuff  as  I  used  to  eat  when  a  youngster  and  a  fisher 
man,  are  high  noon  to  it !  Soundings  are  out  of  the  ques 
tion  hereabouts  ;  and,  before  one  has  hauled  in  the  deep-sea, 
with  all  its  line  out,  his  cut-water  may  be  on  a  rock.  This 
ship  is  so  weatherly  and  drags  ahead  so  fast,  that  we  shall 
see  terra  jirma  before  any  one  has  a  notion  of  it.  The  old 
man  fancies,  because  the  coast  of  Fuego  trends  to  the  north 
west,  that  the  land  will  fall  away  from  us,  as  fast  as  we 
draw  towards  it.  I  hope  he  may  live  long  enough  to  per 
suade  all  hands  that  he  is  right !" 

Marble  and  I  were  conversing  on  the  forecastle  at  the  time, 
our  eyes  turned  to  the  westward,  for  it  was  scarcely  possible 
for  him  to  look  in  any  other  direction,  when  he  interrupted 
himself,  by  shouting  out — "  hard  up  with  the  helm — spring 
to  the  after-braces,  my  lads  —  man  mizen-staysail  down- 
h«ul  !"  This  set  everybody  in  motion,  and  the  captain  and 
third-mate  were  on  deck  in  a  minute.  The  ship  fell  off,  as 
soon  as  we  got  the  mizen-staysail  in,  and  the  main-topsail 


166  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

touching.  Gathering  way  fast,  as  she  got  the  wind  more 
aft,  her  helm  threw  her  stern  up,  and  away  she  went  like  a 
top.  The  fore-topmast  staysail-sheet  was  tended  with  care, 
and  yet  the  cloth  emitted  a  sound  like  the  report  of  a  swivel, 
when  the  sail  first  filled  on  the  other  tack.  We  got  the 
starboard  fore-tack  forward,  and  the  larboard  sheet  aft,  by 
two  tremendously  severe  drags,  the  blocks  and  bolts  seem 
ing  fairly  to  quiver,  as  they  felt  the  strains.  Everything 
succeeded,  however,  and  the  Crisis  began  to  drag  off  from 
the  coast  of  Terra  del  Fuego,  of  a  certainty ;  but  to  go 
whither,  no  one  could  precisely  tell.  She  headed  up  nearly 
east,  the  wind  playing  about  between  south-and-by-east,  and 
south-east-and-by-south.  On  that  course,  I  own  I  had  now 
great  doubt  whether  she  could  lay  past  the  Falkland  Islands, 
though  I  felt  persuaded  we  must  be  a  long  distance  from 
them.  There  was  plenty  of  time  before  us  to  take  the 
chances  of  a  change. 

As  soon  as  the  ship  was  round,  and  trimmed  by  the  wind 
on  the  other  tack,  Captain  Williams  had  a  grave  conversa 
tion  with  the  chief-mate,  on  the  subject  of  his  reason  for 
what  he  had  done.  Marble  maintained  he  had  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  land  ahead — "  Just  as  you  know  I  did  of  la 
Dame  de  Nantes,  Captain  Williams,"  he  continued,  "  and 
seeing  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  I  ordered  the  helm  hard 
up,  to  ware  off  shore."  I  distrusted  this  account,  even 
while  it  was  in  the  very  process  of  coming  out  of  the  chief 
mate's  mouth,  and  Marble  afterwards  admitted  to  me,  quite 
justly ;  but  the  captain  either  was  satisfied,  or  thought  it 
prudent  to  seem  so.  By  the  best  calculations  I  afterwards 
made,  I  suppose  we  must  have  been  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
leagues  from  the  land  when  we  wore  ship ;  but,  as  Marble 
said,  when  he  made  his  private  confessions,  "  Madagascar 
was  quite  enough  for  me,  Miles,  without  breaking  our  nose 
on  this  sea-gull  coast ;  and  there  may  be  *  bloody  currents' 
on  this  side  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  as  well  as  on  the 
other.  We  've  got  just  so  much  of  a  gale  and  a  foul  wind 
to  weather,  and  the  ship  will  do  both  quite  as  well  with  her 
head  to  the  eastward,  as  with  her  head  to  the  westward." 

All  that  day  the  Crisis  stood  on  the  starboard  tack,  drag 
ging  through  the  raging  waters  as  it  might  be  by  violence; 
and  just  as  night  shut  in  again,  she  wore  round,  once  more, 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  „        167 

with  her  head  to  the  westward.  So  far  from  abating,  the 
wind  increased,  and  towards  evening  we  found  it  necessary 
to  furl  our  topsail  and  fore-course.  Mere  rag  of  a  sail  as 
the  former  had  been  reduced  to,  with  its  four  reefs  in,  it  was 
a  delicate  job  to  roll  it  up.  Neb  and  I  stood  together  in  the 
bunt,  and  never  did  I  exert  myself  more  than  on  that  occa 
sion.  The  foresail,  too,  was  a  serious  matter,  but  we  got 
both  sails  in  without  losing  either.  Just  as  the  sun  set,  or 
as  night  came  to  increase  the  darkness  of  that  gloomy  day, 
the  fore-topmast-staysail  went  out  of  the  bolt-rope,  with  a 
^report  that  was  heard  all  over  the  ship  ;  disappearing  in  the 
'mist,  like  a  cloud  driving  in  the  heavens.  A  few  minutes 
later,  the  mizen-staysail  was  hauled  down  in  order  to  pre 
vent  it  from  travelling  the  same  road.  The  jerks  even  this 
*  ^w  canvass  occasionally  gave  the  ship,  made  her  tremble 
;Om  her  keel  to  her  trucks. 

For  the  first  time,  I  now  witnessed  a  tempest  at  sea.  Gales, 
and  pretty  hard  ones,  I  had  often  seen ;  but  the  force  of  the 
wind  on  this  occasion,  as  much  exceeded  that  in  ordinar) 
gales  of  wind,  as  the  force  of  these  had  exceeded  that  of  a 
whole-sail  breeze.  The  seas  seemed  crushed,  the  pressure 
of  the  swooping  atmosphere,  as  the  currents  of  the  air  went 
howling  over  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  fairly  preventing  them 
from  rising ;  or,  where  a  mound  of  water  did  appear,  it  was 
scooped  up  and  borne  off  in  spray,  as  the  axe  dubs  ine 
qualities  from  the  log.  In  less  than  an  hour  after  it  began 
to  blow  the  hardest,  there  was  no  very  apparent  swell — the 
deep  breathing  of  the  ocean  is  never  entirely  stilled  —  and 
the  ship  was  as  steady  as  if  hove  half  out,  her  lower  yard- 
arms  nearly  touching  the  water,  an  inclination  at  which 
they  remained  as  steadily  as  if  kept  there  by  purchases.  A 
few  of  us  were  compelled  to  go  as  high  as  the  futtock-shrouds 
to  secure  the  sails,  but  higher  it  was  impossible  to  get.  I 
observed  that  when  I  thrust  out  a  hand  to  clutch  anything, 
it  was  necessary  to  make  the  movement  in  such  a  direction 
as  to  allow  for  lee-way,  precisely  as  a  boat  quarters  the 
stream  in  crossing  against  a  current.  In  ascending  it  was 
difficult  to  keep  the  feet  on  the  ratlins,  and  in  descending,  it 
required  a  strong  effort  to  force  the  body  down  towards  the 
centre  of  gravity.  I  make  no  doubt,  had  I  groped  my  way 
up  to  the  cross-trees,  and  lenped  overboard,  my  body  would 


168  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

have  struck  the  water,  thirty  or  forty  yards  from  the  ship. 
A  marlin-spike  falling  from  either  top,  would  have  endan 
gered  no  one  on  deck. 

When  the  day  returned,  a  species  of  lurid,  sombre  light 
was  diffused  over  the  watery  waste,  though  nothing  was  visible 
jut  the  ocean  and  the  ship.  Even  the  sea-birds  seemed  to 
lave  taken  refuge  in  the  caverns  of  the  adjacent  coast,  none 
re-appearing  with  the  dawn.  The  air  was  full  of  spray,  and 
it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  eye  could  penetrate  as  far  into 
the  humid  atmosphere  as  half  a  mile.  All  hands  mustered 
on  deck,  as  a  matter  of  course,  no  one  wishing  to  sleep  at  a 
time  like  that.  As  for  us  officers,  we  collected  on  the  fore 
castle,  the  spot  where  danger  would  first  make  itself  appa 
rent,  did  it  come  from  the  side  of  the  land.  It  is  not  easy 
to  make  a  landsman  understand  the  embarrassments  of  our 
situation.  We  had  had  no  observations  for  several  days, 
and  had  been  moving  about  by  dead  reckoning,  in  a  part 
of  the  ocean  where  the  tides  run  like  a  mill-tail,  with  the 
wind  blowing  a  little  hurricane.  Even  now,  when  her  bows 
were  half  submerged,  and  without  a  stitch  of  canvass  ex 
posed,  the  Crisis  drove  ahead  at  the  rate  of  three  or  four 
knots,  luffing  as  close  to  the  wind  as  if  she  carried  after-sail. 
It  was  Marble's  opinion  that,  in  such  smooth  water,  do  all 
we  could,  the  vessel  would  drive  towards  the  much-dreaded 
land  again,  between  sun  and  sun  of  that  short  day,  a  dis 
tance  of  from  thirty  to  forty  miles.  "Nor  is  this  all,  Miles," 
he  added  to  me,  in  an  aside,  "  I  no  more  like  this  *  bloody 
current,'  than  that  we  had  over  on  the  other  side  of  the  pond, 
when  we  broke  our  back  on  the  rocks  of  Madagascar.  You 
never  see  as  smooth  water  as  this,  unless  when  the  wind  and 
current  are  travelling  in  the  same  direction."  I  made  no 
reply,  but  there  all  four  of  us,  the  captain  and  his  three 
mates,  stood  looking  anxiously  into  the  vacant  mist  on  our 
lee-bow,  as  if  we  expected  every  moment  to  behold  our 
homes.  A  silence  often  minutes  succeeded,  and  I  was  still 
gazing  in  the  same  direction,  when  by  a  sort  of  mystic  rising 
of  the  curtain,  I  fancied  I  saw  a  beach  of  long  extent,  with 
a  dark-looking  waste  of  low  bottom  extending  inland,  for  a 
considerable  distance.  The  beach  did  not  appear  to  be  dis 
tant  half  a  knot,  while  the  ship  seemed  to  glide  along  it,  as 
compared  with  visible  objects  on  shore,  at  a  rate  of  six  or  eight 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  169 

miles  the  hour.  It  extended,  almost  in  a  parallel  line  with 
our  course,  too,  as  far  as  could  be  seen,  both  astern  and 
ahead. 

"  What  a  strange  delusion  is  this !"  I  thought  to  myself, 
and  turned  to  look  at  my  companions,  when  I  found  all 
looking,  one  at  the  other,  as  if  to  ask  a  common  explana 
tion. 

"  There  is  no  mistake  here,"  said  captain  Williams, 
quietly.  "  That  is  land,  gentlemen." 

"  As  true  as  the  gospel,"  answered  Marble,  with  the  sort 
of  steadiness  despair  sometimes  gives.  "  What  is  to  be  done, 
sir?" 

"  What  can  be  done,  Mr.  Marble  1  —  We  have  not  room 
to  ware,  and,  of  the  two,  there  seems,  so  far  as  I  can  judge, 
more  sea-room  ahead  than  astern." 

This  was  so  apparent,  there  was  no  disputing  it.  We 
could  still  see  the  land,  looking  low,  chill,  and  of  the  hue  of 
November ;  and  we  could  also  perceive  that  ahejfd,  if  any 
thing,  it  fell  off  a  little  towards  the  northward,  while  astern 
it  seemingly  stretched  in  a  due  line  with  our  course.  That 
we  passed  it  with  great  velocity,  too,  was  a  circumstance 
that  our  eyes  showed  us  too  plainly  to  admit  of  any  mistake. 
As  the  ship  was  still  without  a  rag  of  sail,  borne  down  by 
the  wind  as  she  had  been  for  hours,  and  burying  to  her 
hawse-holes  forward,  it  was  only  to  a  racing  tide,  or  current 
of  some  sort,  that  we  could  be  indebted  for  our  speed.  Wo 
tried  the  lead,  and  got  bottom  in  six  fathoms ! 

The  captain  and  Marble  now  held  a  serious  consultation. 
That  the  ship  was  entering  some  sort  of  an  estuary  was 
certain,  but  of  what  depth,  how  far  favoured  by  a  holding 
ground,  or  how  far  without  any  anchorage  at  all,  were  facts 
that  defied  our  inquiries.  We  knew  that  the  land  called 
Terra  del  Fuego  was,  in  truth,  a  cluster  of  islands,  inter 
sected  by  various  channels  and  passages,  into  which  ships 
had  occasionally  ventured,  though  their  navigation  had  never 
led  to  any  other  results  than  some  immaterial  discoveries  in 
geography.  That  we  were  entering  one  of  these  passages, 
and  under  favourable  circumstances,  though  so  purely  acci 
dental,  was  the  common  belief;  and  it  only  remained  to 
look  out  for  the  best  anchorage,  while  we  had  day-light. 
Fortunately,  as  we  drove  into  the  bay,  or  passage,  or  what- 
15 


170  AFLOAT     AND     ABHOHE. 

ever  it  was,  the  tempest  lifted  less  spray  from  the  water ; 
and,  owing  to  this  and  other  causes,  the  atmosphere  gra- 
dually  grew  clearer.  By  ten  o'clock,  we  could  see  fully  a 
league,  though  1  can  hardly  say  that  the  wind  blew  less 
fiercely  than  before.  As  for  sea,  there  was  none,  or  next 
to  none ;  the  water  being  as  smooth  as  in  a  river. 

The  day  drew  on,  and  we  began  to  feel  increased  uneasi 
ness  at  the  novelty  of  our  situation.  Our  hope  and  expecta 
tion  were  to  find  some  anchorage;  but  to  obtain  this  it 
was  indispensable  also  to  find  a  lee.  As  the  ship  moved 
forward,  we  still  kept  the  land  in  view,  on  our  starboard 
hand,  but  that  was  a  lee,  instead  of  a  weather  shore ;  the 
last  alone  could  give  our  ground-tackle  any  chance,  what 
ever,  in  such  a  tempest.  We  were  drawing  gradually  away 
from  this  shore,  too,  which  trended  more  northerly,  giving 
us  additional  sea-room.  The  fact  that  we  were  in  a  power 
ful  tide's  way,  puzzled  us  the  most.  There  was  but  one 
mode  of*accounting  for  the  circumstance.  Had  we  entered 
a  bay,  the  current  must  have  been  less,  and  it  seemed  ne 
cessary  there  should  be  some  outlet  to  such  a  swift  accumu 
lation  of  water.  It  was  not  the  mere  rising  of  the  water, 
swelling  in  an  estuary,  but  an  arrow-like  glancing  of  the 
element,  as  it  shot  through  a  pass.  We  had  a  proof  of  this 
last  fact,  about  eleven  o'clock,  that  admitted  of  no  dispute. 
Land  was  seen  directly  ahead,  at  that  hour,  and  great  was 
the  panic  it  created.  A  second  look,  however,  reassured 
us,  the  land  proving  to  be  merely  a  rocky  islet  of  some  six 
or  eight  acres  in  extent.  We  gave  it  a  berth,  of  course, 
though  we  examined  closely  for  an  anchorage  near  it,  as  we 
approached.  The  islet  was  too  low  and  too  small  to  make 
any  lee,  nor  did  we  like  the  looks  of  the  holding-ground. 
The  notion  of  anchoring  there  was  consequently  abandoned  ; 
but  we  had  now  some  means  of  noting  our  progress.  The 
ship  was  kept  a  little  away,  in  order  to  give  this  island  a 
berth,  and  the  gale  drove  her  through  the  water  at  the  rate 
of  seven  or  eight  knots.  This,  however,  was  far  from  being 
our  whole  speed,  the  tide  sweeping  us  onward  at  a  furious 
rate,  in  addition.  Even  Captain  Williams  thought  we  must 
be  passing  that  rock  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  knots  ! 

It  was  noon,  and  there  was  no  abatement  in  the  tempest, 
no  change  in  the  current,  no  means  of  returning,  no  chance 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  171 

of  stopping;  away  we  were  driven,  like  events  ruled  by 
fate.  The  only  change  was  the  gradual  clearing  up  of  the 
atmosphere,  as  we  receded  from  the  ocean,  and  got  farther 
removed  from  its  mists  and  spray.  Perhaps  the  power  of 
the  gale  had,  in  a  small  degree,  abated,  by  two  o'clock,  and 
it  would  have  been  possible  to  carry  some  short  sail ;  but 
there  being  no  sea  to  injure  us,  it  was  unnecessary,  and  the 
ship  continued  to  drive  ahead,  under  bare  poles.  Night  was 
the  time  to  dread. 

There  was,  now,  but  one  opinion  among  us,  and  that  was 
this  : — we  thought  the  ship  had  entered  one  of  the  passages 
that  intersect  Terra  del  Fuego,  and  that  there  was  the 
chance  of  soon  finding  a  lee,  as  these  channels  were  known 
to  be  very  irregular  and  winding.  To  run  in  the  night 
seemed  impossible ;  nor  was  it  desirable,  as  it  was  almost 
certain  we  should  be  compelled  to  return  by  the  way  we 
had  entered,  to  extricate  ourselves  from  the  dangers  of  so 
intricate  a  navigation.  Islands  began  to  appear,  moreover, 
and  we  had  indications  that  the  main  passage  itself,  was 
beginning  to  diminish  in  width.  Under  the  circumstances, 
therefore,  it  was  resolved  to  get  everything  ready,  and  to  let 
go  two  anchors,  as  soon  as  we  could  find  a  suitable  spot. 
Between  the  hours  of  two  and  four,  the  ship  passed  seven 
teen  islets,  some  of  them  quite  near ;  but  they  afforded  no 
shelter.  At  last,  and  it  was  time,  the  sun  beginning  to  fall 
very  low,  as  we  could  see  by  the  waning  light,  we  saw  an 
island  of  some  height  and  size  ahead,  and  we  hoped  it  might 
afford  us  a  lee.  The  tide  had  changed  too,  and  that  was  in 
our  favour.  Turning  to  windward,  however,  was  out  of  the 
question,  since  we  could  carry  no  sail,  and  the  night  was 
near.  Anchor,  then,  we  must,  or  continue  to  drive  onward 
in  the  darkness,  sheered  about  in  all  directions  by  a  power 
ful  adverse  current.  It  is  true,  this  current  would  have 
been  a  means  of  safety,  by  enabling  us  to  haul  up  from 
rocks  and  dangers  ahead,  could  we  carry  any  canvass  ;  but 
it  still  blew  too  violently  for  the  last.  To  anchor,  then,  it 
was  determined. 

I  had  never  seen  so  much  anxiety  in  Captain  Williams's 
countenance,  as  when  he  was  approaching  the  island  men 
tioned.  There  was  still  light  enough  to  observe  its  out 
lines  and  shores,  the  last  appearing  bold  and  promising.  As 


172  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

the  island  itself  may  have  been  a  mile  in  circuit,  it  made  a 
tolerable  lee,  when  close  to  it.  This  was  then  our  object , 
and  the  helm  was  put  to  starboard  as  we  went  slowly  past, 
the  tide  checking  our  speed.  The  ship  sheered  into  a  sort 
of  roadstead — a  very  wild  one  it  was — as  soon  as  she  had 
room.  It  was  ticklish  work,  for  no  one  could  tell  how  soon 
we  might  hit  a  rock ;  but  we  went  clear,  luffing  quite  near 
to  the  land,  where  we  let  go  both  bowers  at  the  same  instant. 
The  ship's  way  had  been  sufficiently  deadened,  by  throwing 
her  up  as  near  the  wind  as  she  could  be  got,  and  there  was 
no  difficulty  in  snubbing  her.  The  lead  gave  us  seven 
fathoms,  and  this  within  pistol-shot  of  the  shore.  We  knew 
we  were  temporarily  safe.  The  great  point  was  to  ascer 
tain  how  the  vessel  would  tend,  and  with  how  much  strain 
upon  her  cables.  To  everybody's  delight,  it  was  found  we 
were  in  a  moderate  eddy,  that  drew  the  ship's  stern  from 
the  island,  and  allowed  her  to  tend  to  the  wind,  which  still 
had  a  fair  range  from  her  top-sail  yards  to  the  trucks. 
Lower  down,  the  tempest  scuffled  about,  howling  and  eddy 
ing,  and  whirling  first  to  one  side,  and  then  to  the  other,  in 
a  way  to  prove  how  much  its  headlong  impetuosity  was 
broken  and  checked  by  the  land.  It  is  not  easy  to  describe 
the  relief  we  felt  at  these  happy  chances.  It  was  like  giving 
foothold  to  some  wretch  who  thought  a  descent  of  the  pre 
cipice  was  inevitable. 

The  ship  was  found  to  ride  easily  by  one  cable,  and  the 
hands  were  sent  to  the  windlass  to  heave  up  the  other 
anchor,  as  our  lead  told  us,  we  had  rocks  beneath  us, 
and  the  captain  was  afraid  of  the  chafing.  The  larboard- 
bovver  anchor  was  catted  immediately,  and  there  it  was  left 
suspended,  with  a  range  of  cable  overhauled,  in  readiness  to 
let  go  at  a  moment's  notice.  After  this,  the  people  were 
told  to  get  their  suppers.  As  for  us  officers,  we  had  other 
things  to  think  of.  The  Crisis  carried  a  small  quarter-boat, 
and  this  was  lowered  into  the  water,  the  third-mate  and 
myself  manned  its  oars,  and  away  we  went  to  carry  the 
captain  round  the  ship,  in  order  that  he  might  ascertain  the 
soundings,  should  it  be  necessary  to  get  under  way  in  the 
night.  The  examination  was  satisfactory,  on  all  points  but 
one ;  that  of  the  holding-ground  ;  and  we  returned  to  tho 
vessel,  having  taken  good  care  to  trust  ourselves  in  neither 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  173 

the  wind  nor  the  current.  An  anchor-watch  was  set,  with 
a  mate  on  deck,  four  hours  and  four  hours,  and  all  hands 
turned  in. 

I  had  the  morning  watch.  What  occurred  from  seven 
o'clock  (the  captain  keeping  the  dog-watches  himself,)  until 
a  few  minutes  before  four,  I  cannot  tell  in  detail,  though  I 
understood  generally,  that  the  wind  continued  to  blow  in  the 
same  quarter,  though  it  gradually  diminished  in  violence, 
getting  down  to  something  like  a  mere  gale,  by  midnight. 
The  ship  rode  more  easily  ;  but,  when  the  flood  came  in, 
there  was  no  longer  an  eddy,  the  current  sucking  round 
each  side  of  the  island  in  a  very  unusual  manner.  About 
ten  minutes  before  the  hour  when  it  was  my  regular  watch 
on  deck,  all  hands  were  called ;  I  ran  on  deck,  and  found 
the  ship  had  struck  adrift,  the  cable  having  parted.  Marble 
had  got  the  vessel's  head  up  to  the  wind,  under  bare  poles 
as  before,  and  we  soon  began  to  heave  in  the  cable.  It  was 
found  that  the  mischief  had  been  done  by  the  rocks,  the 
strands  being  chafed  two-thirds  through.  As  soon  as  the 
current  took  the  vessel's  hull  with  force,  the  cable  parted. 
We  lost  our  anchor,  of  course,  for  there  was  no  possible 
way  of  getting  back  to  the  island  at  present,  or  until  the 
ebb  again  made. 

It  wanted  several  hours  of  day,  and  the  captain  called  a 
council.  He  told  us,  he  made  no  doubt  that  the  ship  had 
got  into  one  of  the  Terra  del  Fuego  passages,  guided  by 
Providence  ;  and,  as  he  supposed  we  must  be  almost  as  far 
south  as  Staten  Land,  he  was  of  opinion  we  had  made  an 
important  discovery !  Get  back  we  could  not,  so  long  as 
the  wind  held  where  it  was,  and  he  was  disposed  to  make 
sail,  and  push  the  examination  of  the  channel,  as  far  as  cir 
cumstances  would  allow.  Captain  Williams  had  a  weak 
ness  on  this  point,  that  was  amiable  and  respectable  perhaps, 
but  which  hardly  comported  with  the  objects  and  prudence 
of  a  trading  ship-master.  We  were  not  surprised,  there 
fore,  at  hearing  his  suggestion  ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  danger, 
curiosity  added  its  impulses  to  our  other  motives  of  acqui 
escing.  We  could  not  get  back  as  the  wind  then  was,  and 
we  were  disposed  to  move  forward.  As  for  the  dangers  of 
he  navigation,  they  seemed  to  be  lessening  as  we  advanced, 
fewer  islands  appearing  ahead,  and  the  passage  itself  grew 
15* 


174  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

wider.  Our  course,  however,  was  more  to  the  southward, 
bringing  the  ship  close  up  by  the  wind,  once  more. 

The  morning  promined  to  be  lighter  than  we  had  found 
the  weather  for  several  days,  and  we  even  experienced  some 
benefit  from  the  moon.  The  wind,  too,  began  to  back  round 
to  the  eastward  again,  as  we  approached  the  dawn ;  and  we 
got  the  three  top-sails,  close-reefed,  the  fore-course,  and  a 
new  fore-top-mast  stay-sail,  on  the  ship.  At  length  day 
appeared,  and  the  sun  was  actually  seen  struggling  among 
dark  masses  of  wild-looking,  driving  clouds.  For  the  first 
time  since  we  entered  those  narrow  waters,  we  now  got  a 
good  look  around  us.  The  land  could  be  seen  in  all  direc 
tions. 

The  passage  in  which  we  found  the  Crisis,  at  sunrise  on 
the  morning  of  the  second  of  these  adventurous  days,  was 
of  several  leagues  in  width;  and  bounded,  especially  on  the 
north,  by  high,  precipitous  mountains,  many  of  which  were 
covered  with  snow.  The  channel  was  unobstructed ;  arid 
not  an  island,  islet,  or  rock,  was  visible.  No  impediment 
to  our  proceeding  offered,  and  we  were  still  more  encour 
aged  to  push  on.  The  course  we  were  steering  was  about 
south-south-west,  and  the  captain  predicted  we  should  come 
out  into  the  ocean  to  the  westward  of  the  Straits  of  Le  Maire, 
and  somewhere  near  the  Cape  itself.  We  should  unques 
tionably  make  a  great  discovery  !  The  wind  continued  to 
back  round,  and  soon  got  to  be  abaft  the  beam.  We  now 
shook  our  reefs  out,  one  after  another,  and  we  had  whole 
topsails  on  the  vessel  by  nine  o'clock.  This  was  carrying 
hard,  it  must  be  owned ;  but  the  skipper  was  determined  to 
make  hay  while  the  sun  shone.  There  were  a  few  hours, 
when  I  think  the  ship  went  fifteen  knots  by  the  land,  being 
so  much  favoured  by  the  current.  Little  did  we  know  the 
difficulties  towards  which  we  were  rushing ! 

Quite  early  in  the  day,  land  appeared  ahead,  and  Marble 
began  to  predict  that  our  rope  was  nearly  run  out.  We  were 
coming  to  the  bottom  of  a  deep  bay.  Captain  Williams 
thought  differently ;  and  when  he  discovered  a  narrow  pas 
sage  between  two  promontories,  he  triumphantly  predicted 
our  near  approach  to  the  Cape.  He  had  seen  some  such 
shape  to  the  mountains  inland,  in  doubling  the  Horn,  and 
the  hill-tops  looked  like  old  acquaintances.  Unfortunately, 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  175 

w$  could  not  see  the  sun  at  meridian,  and  got  no  observa 
tion.  For  several  hours  we  ran  south-westerly,  in  a  pas 
sage  of  no  great  width,  when  we  came  to  a  sudden  bend  in 
our  course,  which  led  us  away  to  the  north-west.  Here  we 
still  had  the  tide  with  us,  and  we  then  all  felt  certain  that 
we  had  reached  a  point  where  the  ebb  must  flow  in  a  direc 
tion  contrary  to  that  in  which  we  had  found  it,  in  the  other 
parts  of  the  passage.  It  followed,  that  we  were  now  half 
way  through  to  the  ocean,  though  the  course  we  were  steer 
ing  predicted  a  sinuous  channel.  We  were  certainly  not 
going  now  towards  Cape  Horn. 

Notwithstanding  the  difficulties  and  doubts  which  beset 
us,  Captain  Williams  packed  on  the  ship,  determined  to  get 
ahead  as  fast  as  he  could,  while  there  was  light.  It  no 
longer  blew  a  gale,  and  the  wind  was  hauling  more  to  the 
southward  again.  It  soon  got  to  be  right  aft,  and  before 
sunset  it  had  a  little  westing  in  it.  Fortunately,  it  mode 
rated,  and  we  set  our  main-sail  and  top-gallant-sails.  We 
had  carried  a  lower  and  top-mast  studding-sails  nearly  alf 
day.  The  worst  feature  in  our  situation,  now,  was  the  vast 
number  of  islands,  or  islets,  we  met.  The  shore  on  each 
side  was  mountainous  and  rude,  and  deep  indentations  were 
constantly  tempting  us  to  turn  aside.  But,  rightly  judging 
that  the  set  of  the  tide  was  a  fair  index  to  the  true  course, 
the  captain  stood  on. 

The  night  that  followed  was  one  of  the  most  anxious  I 
ever  passed.  We  were  tempted  to  anchor  a  dozen  times,  in 
some  of  the  different  bays,  of  which  we  passed  twenty  ;  but 
could  not  make  up  our  minds  to  risk  another  cable.  We 
met  the  flood  a  little  after  sunset,  and  got  rid  of  it  before 
morning.  But  the  wind  kept  hauling,  and  at  last  it  brought 
us  fairly  on  a  taut  bow-line ;  under  top-gallant-sails,  how 
ever.  We  had  come  too  far  to  recede,  or  now  would  have 
been  the  time  to  turn  round,  and  retrace  our  steps.  But  we 
hoped  every  moment  to  reach  some  inclination  south,  again, 
that  would  carry  us  into  the  open  sea.  We  ran  a  vast  many 
chances  of  shipwreck,  passing  frightfully  near  several  reefs; 
but  the  same  good  Providence  which  had  so  far  protected  us, 
carried  us  clear.  Never  was  I  so  rejoiced  as  when  I  sav* 
day  returning. 


176  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

We  had  the  young  ebb,  and  a  scant  wind,  when  the  sun 
rose  next  day.  It  was  a  brilliant  morning,  however,  and 
everybody  predicted  an  observation  at  noon.  The  channel 
was  full  of  islands,  still,  and  other  dangers  were  not  want 
ing  ;  but,  as  we  could  see  our  way,  we  got  through  them  all 
safely.  At  length  our  course  became  embarrassed,  so  many 
large  islands,  with  passages  between  them,  offering  on  dif 
ferent  sides.  One  headland,  however,  lay  before  us ;  and, 
the  ship  promising  to  weather  it,  we  held  on  our  way.  It 
was  just  ten  o'clock  as  we  approached  this  cape,  and  we 
found  a  passage  westward  that  actually  led  into  the  ocean ! 
All  hands  gave  three  cheers  as  we  became  certain  of  this 
fact,  the  ship  tacking  as  soon  as  far  enough  ahead,  and  set 
ting  seaward  famously  with  the  tide. 

Captain  Williams  now  told  us  to  get  our  quadrants,  for 
the  heavens  were  cloudless,  and  we  should  have  a  horizon 
in  time  for  the  sun.  He  was  anxious  to  get  the  latitude  of 
our  discovery.  Sure  enough,  it  so  fell  out,  and  we  prepared 
to  observe ;  some  predicting  one  parallel,  some  another.  As 
for  the  skipper  himself,  he  said  he  thought  we  were  still  to 
the  eastward  of  the  Cape ;  but  he  felt  confident  that  we  had 
come  out  to  the  westward  of  Le  Maire.  Marble  was  silent ; 
but  he  had  observed,  and  made  his  calculations,  before  either 
of  the  others  had  commenced  the  last.  I  saw  him  scratch 
his  head,  and  go  to  the  chart  which  lay  on  the  companion- 
way.  Then  I  heard  him  shout — 

"  In  the  Pacific,  by  St.  Kennebunk  !" — he  always  swore 
by  this  pious  individual  when  excited — "  We  have  come 
through  the  Straits  of  Magellan  without  knowing  it !" 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  177 


CHAPTER    XII. 

*  Sound  trumpets,  ho! — weigh  anchor — loosen  sail — 
The  seaward-flying  banners  chide  delay ; 
As  if  't  were  heaven  that  breathes  this  kindly  gale, 
Our  life-like  bark  beiLeath  it  speeds  away. —  " 

PlNKNEY. 

THE  stout  ship  Crisis  had,  like  certain  persons,  done  a 
good  thing  purely  by  chance.  Had  her  exploit  happened  in 
the  year  1519,  instead  of  that  of  1800,  the  renowned  pas 
sage  we  had  just  escaped  from  would  have  been  called  the 
Crisis  Straits,  a  better  name  than  the  mongrel  appellation  it 
now  bears  ;  which  is  neither  English,  nor  Portuguese.  The 
ship  had  been  lost,  like  a  man  in  the  woods,  and  came  out 
nearer  home,  than  those  in  her  could  have  at  all  expected. 
The  "  bloody  currents"  had  been  at  the  bottom  of  the  mis 
take,  though  this  time  they  did  good,  instead  of  harm.  Any 
one  who  has  been  thoroughly  lost  on  a  heath,  or  in  a  forest, 
or,  even  in  a  town,  can  comprehend  how  the  head  gets 
turned  on  such  occasions,  and  will  understand  the  manner 
in  which  we  had  mystified  ourselves. 

I  shall  remember  the  feelings  of  delight  with  which  I 
looked  around  me,  as  the  ship  passed  out  into  the  open  ocean, 
to  my  dying  day.  There  lay  the  vast  Pacific,  its  long, 
regular  waves  rolling  in  towards  the  coast,  in  mountain-like 
ridges,  it  is  true,  but  under  a  radiant  sun,  and  in  a  bright 
atmosphere.  Everybody  was  cheered  by  the  view,  and 
never  did  order  sound  more  pleasant  in  my  ears,  than  when 
the  captain  called  out,  in  a  cheerful  voice,  "  to  man  the 
weather  braces."  This  command  was  given  the  instant  it 
was  prudent ;  and  the  ship  went  foaming  past  the  last  cape, 
with  the  speed  of  a  courser.  Studding-sails  were  then  set, 
and,  when  the  sun  was  dipping,  we  had  a  good  offing,  were 
driving  to  the  northward  under  everything  we  could  carry, 
and  had  a  fair  prospect  of  an  excellent  run  from  the  neigh 
bourhood  of  Terra  del  Fuego,  and  its  stormy  seas. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  dwell  on  our  passage  along  the 
western  coast  of  South  America.  A  voyage  to  the  Pacific 


178  AFLOAT    AND    ASHORE. 

was  a  very  different  thing  in  the  year  1800,  however,  from 
what  it  is  to-day.  The  power  of  Spain  was  then  completely 
in  the  ascendant,  intercourse  with  any  nation  but  the  mother 
country,  being  strictly  prohibited.  It  is  true,  a  species  of 
commerce,  that  was  called  the  "  forced  trade  on  the  Span 
ish  Main"  existed  under  that  code  of  elastic  morals,  which 
adapts  the  maxim  of  "  your  purse  or  your  life"  to  modern 
diplomacy,  as  well  as  to  the  habits  of  the  highwayman. 
According  to  divers  masters  in  the  art  of  ethics  now  flour 
ishing  among  ourselves,  more  especially  in  the  atmosphere 
of  the  journals  of  the  commercial  communities,  the  people 
that  "  can  trade  and  won't  trade,  must  be  made  to  trade." 
At  the  commencement  of  the  century,  your  mercantile 
moralists  were  far  less  manly  in  the  avowal  of  their  senti 
ments,  though  their  practices  were  in  no  degree  wanting  in 
the  spirit  of  our  more  modern  theories.  Ships  were  fitted 
out,  armed,  and  navigated,  on  this  just  principle,  quite  as 
confidently  and  successfully  as  if  the  tongue  had  declared 
all  that  the  head  had  conceived. 

Guarda-Costas  were  the  arguments  used,  on  the  other  side 
of  this  knotty  question,  by  the  authorities  of  Spain  ;  and  a 
very  insufficient  argument,  on  the  whole,  did  they  prove  to 
be.  It  is  an  old  saying,  that  vice  is  twice  as  active  as  vir 
tue  ;  the  last  sleeping,  while  the  former  is  hard  at  work.  If 
this  be  true  of  things  in  general,  it  is  thrice  true  as  regards 
smugglers  and  custom-house  officers.  Owing  to  this  cir 
cumstance,  and  sundry  other  causes,  it  is  certain  that  English 
and  American  vessels  found  the  means  of  plundering  the 
inhabitants  of  South  America,  at  the  period  of  which  I  am 
writing,  without  having  recourse  to  the  no  longer  reputable 
violence  of  Dampier,  Wood,  Rogers,  or  Drake.  As  I  feel 
bound  to  deal  honestly  with  the  reader,  whatever  I  may  have 
done  by  the  Spanish  laws,  I  shall  own  that  we  made  one  or 
two  calls,  as  we  proceeded  north,  shoving  ashore  certain 
articles  purchased  in  London,  and  taking  on  board  dollars, 
in  return  for  our  civility.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  am 
bound,  or  not,  to  apologize  for  my  own  agency  in  these  irre 
gular  transactions  —  regular,  would  be  quite  as  apposite  a 
word  —  for,  had  I  been  disposed  to  murmur,  it  would  have 
done  my  morals  no  good,  nor  the  smuggling  any  harm. 
Captain  Williams  was  a  silent  man,  and  it  was  not  easy  to 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  179 

ascertain  precisely  what  he  thought  on  the  subject  of  smug 
gling  ;  but,  in  the  way  of  practice,  I  never  saw  any  reason  to 
doubt  that  he  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrine  of  Free  Trade. 
As  for  Marble,  he  put  me  in  mind  of  a  certain  renowned 
editor  of  a  well-known  New  York  journal,  who  evidently 
thinks  that  all  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  sun,  moon,  and 
stars,  the  void  above  and  the  caverns  beneath  us,  the  uni 
verse,  in  short,  was  created  to  furnish  materials  for  news 
paper  paragraphs ;  the  worthy  mate,  just  as  confidently 
believing  that  coasts,  bays,  inlets,  roadsteads  and  havens, 
were  all  intended  by  nature,  as  means  to  run  goods  ashore 
wherever  the  duties,  or  prohibitions,  rendered  it  inconvenient 
to  land  them  in  the  more  legal  mode.  Smuggling,  in  his 
view  of  the  matter,  was  rather  more  creditable  than  the 
regular  commerce,  since  it  required  greater  cleverness. 

I  shall  not  dwell  on  the  movements  of  the  Crisis,  for  the 
five  months  that  succeeded  her  escape  from  the  Straits  of 
Magellan.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  she  anchored  at  as  many 
different  points  on  the  coast ;  that  all  which  came  up  the 
main-hatch,  went  ashore  ;  and  all  that  came  over  the  bul 
warks,  was  passed  down  into  the  run.  We  were  chased  by 
guarda  -  costas  seven  times,  escaping  from  them  on  each 
occasion,  with  ease;  though  we  had  three  little  running 
fights.  I  observed  that  Captain  Williams  was  desirous  of 
engaging  these  emissaries  of  the  law,  as  easily  as  possible, 
ordering  us  to  fire  altogether  at  their  spars.  I  have  since 
thought  that  this  moderation  proceeded  from  a  species  of 
principle  that  is  common  enough — a  certain  half-way  code 
of  right  and  wrong — which  encouraged  him  to  smuggle,  but 
which  caused  him  to  shrink  from  taking  human  life.  Your 
half-way  rogues  are  the  bane  of  honesty. 

After  quitting  the  Spanish  coast,  altogether,  we  proceeded 
north,  with  the  laudable  intention  of  converting  certain 
quantities  of  glass-beads,  inferior  jack-knives,  frying-pans, 
and  other  homely  articles  of  the  same  nature,  into  valuable 
furs.  In  a  word,  we  shaped  our  course  for  that  district 
which  bids  fair  to  set  the  mother  and  daughter  by  the  ears, 
one  of  these  days,  unless  it  shall  happen  to  be  disposed  of 
a  la  Texas,  or,  what  is  almost  as  bad,  a  la  Maine,  ere  long. 
At  that  time  the  whole  north-west  coast  was  unoccupied  by 
white  men,  and  I  felt  no  scruples  about  trading  with  the 


180  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

natives  who  presented  themselves  with  their  skins  as  soon 
as  we  had  anchored,  believing  that  they  had  the  best  right 
to  the  country  and  its  products.  We  passed  months  in  this 
traffic,  getting,  at  every  point  where  we  stopped,  something 
to  pay  us  for  our  trouble. 

We  went  as  far  north  as  53°,  and  that  is  pretty  much  all 
I  ever  knew  of  our  last  position.  At  the  time,  I  thought  we 
had  anchored  in  a  bay  on  the  main  land,  but  I  have  since 
been  inclined  to  think  it  was  in  one  of  the  many  islands  that 
line  that  broken  coast.  We  got  a  very  secure  berth,  hav 
ing  been  led  to  it  by  a  native  pilot  who  boarded  us  several 
leagues  at  sea,  and  who  knew  enough  English  to  persuade 
our  captain  that  he  could  take  us  to  a  point  where  sea-otter 
skins  might  be  had  for  the  asking.  Nor  did  the  man  de 
ceive  us,  though  a  more  unpromising-looking  guide  never 
had  charge  of  smuggling  Christians.  He  carried  us  into  a 
very  small  bay,  where  we  found  plenty  of  water,  capital 
holding-ground,  and  a  basin  as  smooth  as  a  dock.  But  one 
wind — that  which  blew  from  the  north-west — could  make 
any  impression  on  it,  and  the  effects  of  even  that  were  much 
broken  by  a  small  island  that  lay  abreast  of  the  entrance ; 
leaving  good  passages,  on  each  side  of  it,  out  to  sea.  The 
basin  itself  was  rather  small,  it  is  true,  but  it  did  well 
enough  for  a  single  ship.  Its  diameter  may  have  been  three 
hundred  yards,  and  I  never  saw  a  sheet  of  natural  water 
that  was  so  near  a  circle.  Into  a  place  like  this,  the  reader 
will  imagine,  we  did  not  venture  without  taking  the  proper 
precautions.  Marble  was  sent  in  first,  to  reconnoitre  and 
sound,  and  it  was  on  his  report  that  Captain  Williams  ven 
tured  to  take  the  ship  in. 

At  that  time,  ships  on  the  North-West  Coast  had  to  use 
the  greatest  precautions  against  the  treachery  and  violence 
of  the  natives.  This  rendered  the  size  of  our  haven  the 
subject  of  distrust ;  for,  lying  in  the  middle  of  it,  where  we 
moored,  we  were  barely  an  arrow's  flight  from  the  shore,  in 
every  direction  but  that  which  led  to  the  narrow  entrance. 
It  was  a  most  secure  anchorage,  as  against  the  dangers  of 
the  sea,  but  a  most  insecure  one  as  against  the  dangers  of 
the  savages.  This  we  all  felt,  as  soon  as  our  anchors  were 
down ;  but,  intending  to  remain  only  while  we  bartered  for 
the  skins  which  we  had  been  told  were  ready  for  the  first 


JLTLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  181 

ship  that  should  offer,  we  trusted  to  vigilance  as  our  safe 
guard  in  the  interval. 

I  never  could  master  the  uncouth  sounds  of  the  still  more 
uncouth  savages  of  that  distant  region.  The  fellow  who 
carried  us  in  had  a  name  of  his  own,  doubtless,  but  it  was 
not  to  be  pronounced  by  a  Christian  tongue,  and  he  got  the 
sobriquet  of  the  Dipper  from  us,  owing  to  the  manner  in 
which  he  ducked  at  the  report  of  our  muskets,  which  had  been 
discharged  by  Marble  merely  with  the  intention  to  renew 
the  cartridges.  We  had  hardly  got  into  the  little  basin,  before 
the  Dipper  left  us,  returning  in  an  hour,  however,  with  a 
canoe  loaded  to  the  water's  edge,  with  beautiful  skins,  and 
accompanied  by  three  savages  as  wild-looking,  seemingly 
as  fierce,  and  certainly  as  avaricious  as  he  was  himself. 
These  auxiliaries,  through  various  little  circumstances,  were 
known  among  us  that  same  afternoon,  by  the  several  appel 
lations  of  Smudge,  Tin-pot,  and  Slit-nose.  These  were  not 
heroic  names,  of  a  certainty,  but  their  owners  had  as  little 
of  the  heroic  in  their  appearance,  as  usually  falls  to  the  lot 
of  man  in  the  savage  state.  I  cannot  tell  the  designation  of 
the  tribes  to  which  these  four  worthies  belonged,  nor  do  I 
know  any  more  of  their  history  and  pursuits  than  the  few 
facts  which  came  under  my  own  immediate  observation.  I 
did  ask  some  questions  of  the  captain,  with  a  view  to  obtain 
a  few  ideas  on  this  subject,  but  all  he  knew  was,  that  these 
people  put  a  high  value  on  blankets,  beads,  gun-powder, 
frying-pans,  and  old  hoops,  and  that  they  set  a  remarkably 
low  price  on  sea-otter  skins,  as  well  as  on  the  external  co 
verings  of  sundry  other  animals.  An  application  to  Mr. 
Marble  was  still  less  successful,  being  met  by  the  pithy  an 
swer  that  he  was  "  no  naturalist,  and  knew  nothing  about 
these  critturs,  or  any  wild  beasts,  in  general."  Degraded 
as  the  men  certainly  were,  however,  we  thought  them  quite 
good  enough  to  be  anxious  to  trade  with  them.  Commerce, 
like  misery,  sometimes  makes  a  man  acquainted  with  strange 
bed-fellows. 

I  had  often  seen  our  own  Indians  after  they  had  become 
degraded  by  their  intercourse  with  the  whites  and  the  use  of 
rum,  but  never  had  I  beheld  any  beings  so  low  in  the  scale 
of  the  human  race,  as  the  North- Western  savages  appeared 
to  be.  Thev  seemed  to  me  to  be  the  Hottentots  of  our  own 
16 


182  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

continent.  Still  they  were  not  altogether  without  the  means 
of  commanding  our  respect.  As  physical  men  they  were 
both  active  and  strong,  and  there  were  gleams  of  ferocity 
about  them,  that  all  their  avarice  and  art  could  not  conceal. 
I  could  not  discover  in  their  usages,  dress,  or  deportment,  a 
single  trace  of  that  chivalrous  honour  which  forms  so  great 
a  relief  to  the  well-established  cruelty  of  the  warrior  of  our 
own  part  of  the  continent.  Then,  these  sea-otter  dealers 
had  some  knowledge  of  the  use  of  fire-arms,  and  were  too 
well  acquainted  with  the  ships  of  us  civilized  men  to  have 
any  superstitious  dread  of  our  power. 

The  Dipper,  and  his  companions,  sold  us  one  hundred 
and  thirty-three  sea-otter  skins  the  very  afternoon  we  an 
chored.  This,  of  itself,  was  thought  to  be  a  sufficient  reward 
for  the  trouble  and  risk  of  coming  into  this  unknown  basin. 
Both  parties  seemed  pleased  with  the  results  of  the  trading, 
and  we  were  given  to  understand  that,  by  remaining  at  an 
chor,  we  might  hope  for  six  or  eight  times  our  present  num 
ber  of  skins.  Captain  Williams  was  greatly  gratified  with 
the  success  with  which  he  had  already  met,  and  having 
found  that  all  the  Dipper  had  promised  came  true,  he  deter 
mined  to  remain  a  day  or  two,  in  his  present  berth,  in  order 
to  wait  for  more  bargains.  This  resolution  was  no  sooner 
communicated  to  the  savages  than  they  expressed  their  de 
light,  sending  off  Tin-pot  and  Slit-nose  with  the  intelligence, 
while  the  Dipper  and  Smudge  remained  in  the  ship,  appa 
rently  on  terms  of  perfect  good-fellowship  with  everybody 
on  board.  The  gentry  of  the  North- West  Coast  being  flagrant 
thieves,  however,  all  hands  had  orders  to  keep  a  good  look 
out  on  our  two  guests,  Captain  Williams  expressing  his  in 
tention  to  flog  them  soundly,  should  they  be  detected  in  any 
of  their  usual  light-fingered  dexterity. 

Marble  and  myself  observed  that  the  canoe,  in  which  the 
messengers  left  us,  did  not  pull  out  to  sea,  but  that  it  en 
tered  a  small  stream,  or  creek,  that  communicated  with  the 
head  of  the  bay.  As  there  was  no  duty  on  board,  we  asked 
the  captain's  permission  to  explore  this  spot ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  to  make  a  more  thorough  examination  of  our 
haven,  generally.  The  request  being  granted,  we  got  into 
the  yawl,  with  four  men,  all  of  us  armed,  and  set  out  on  our 
little  expedition.  Smudge,  a  withered,  grey-headed  old 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  183 

Indian,  with  muscles  however  that  resembled  whip-cord,  was 
alone  on  deck,  when  this  movement  took  place.  He 
watched  our  proceedings  narrowly,  and,  when  he  saw  us 
descend  into  the  boat,  he  very  coolly  slipped  down  the  ship's 
side,  and  took  his  place  in  the  stern-sheets,  with  as  much 
quiet  dignity  as  if  he  had  been  captain.  Marble  was  a  good 
deal  of  a  ship's  martinet  in  such  matters,  and  he  did  not 
more  than  half  like  the  familiarity  and  impudence  of  the 
procedure. 

"  What  say  you,  Miles,"  he  asked,  a  little  sharply,  "  shall 
we  take  this  dried  ourang-outang  ashore  with  us,  or  shall 
we  try  to  moisten  him  a  little,  by  throwing  him  overboard  ?" 

"  Let  him  go,  by  all  means,  Mr.  Marble.  I  dare  say  the 
man  wishes  to  be  of  use,  and  he  has  only  a  bad  manner  of 
showing  it." 

"  Of  use !  He  is  worth  no  more  than  the  carcase  of  a 
whale  that  has  been  stripped  of  its  blubber.  I  say,  Miles, 
there  would  be  no  need  of  the  windlass  to  heave  the  blanket 
off  of  this  fish!" 

This  professional  witticism  put  Marble  in  good  humour 
with  himself,  and  he  permitted  the  fellow  to  remain.  I  re 
member  the  thoughts  that  passed  through  my  mind,  as  the 
yawl  pulled  towards  the  creek,  on  that  occasion,  as  well  as 
if  it  had  all  occurred  yesterday.  I  sat  looking  at  the  semi- 
human  being  who  was  seated  opposite,  wondering  at  the 
dispensation  of  Divine  Providence  which  could  leave  one 
endowed  with  a  portion  of  the  ineffable  nature  of  the  Deity, 
in  a  situation  so  degraded.  I  had  seen  beasts  in  cages  that 
appeared  to  me  to  be  quite  as  intelligent,  and  members  of 
the  diversified  family  of  human  caricatures,  or  of  the  ba 
boons  and  monkeys,  that  I  thought  were  quite  as  agreeable 
objects  to  the  eye.  Smudge  seemed  to  be  almost  without 
ideas.  In  his  bargains,  he  had  trusted  entirely  to  the  vigi 
lance  of  the  Dipper,  whom  we  supposed  to  be  some  sort  of 
a  relation ;  and  the  articles  he  received  in  exchange  for  his 
skins,  failed  to  arouse  in  his  grim,  vacant  countenance,  the 
smallest  signs  of  pleasure.  Emotion  and  he,  if  they  had 
been  acquainted,  now  appeared  to  be  utter  strangers  to  each 
other ;  nor  was  this  apathy  in  the  least  like  the  well-known 
stoicism  of  the  American  Indian  ;  but  had  the  air  of  down 
right  insensibility.  Yet  this  man  assuredly  had  a  soul,  a 


184-  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

spark  of  the  never-dying  flame  that  separates  man  from  all 
the  other  beings  of  earth  ! 

The  basin  in  which  the  Crisis  lay  was  entirely  fringed 
with  forest.  The  trees  in  most  places  even  overhung  the 
water,  forming  an  impenetrable  screen  to  everything  inland, 
at  the  season  when  they  were  in  leaf.  Not  a  sign  of  a 
habitation  of  any  sort  was  visible ;  and,  as  we  approached 
the  shore,  Marble  remarked  that  the  savages  could  only 
resort  to  the  place  at  the  moments  when  they  had  induced 
a  ship  to  enter,  in  order  to  trade  with  them. 

"  No — no,"  added  the  mate,  turning  his  head  in  all  direc 
tions,  in  order  to  take  a  complete  survey  of  the  bay  ;  "  there 
are  no  wigwams,  or  papooses,  hereabouts.  This  is  only  a 
trading-post;  and  luckily  for  us,  it  is  altogether  without 
custom-house  officers." 

"  Not  without  smugglers,  I  fancy,  Mr.  Marble,  if  con 
triving  to  get  other  people's  property  without  their  know 
ledge,  can  make  a  smuggler.  I  never  saw  a  more  thorough- 
looking  thief  than  the  chap  we  have  nick-named  the  Dipper. 
I  believe  he  would  swallow  one  of  our  iron  spoons,  rather 
than  not  get  it !" 

"  Ay,  there  's  no  mistake  about  him,  '  Master  Mile,'  as 
Neb  calls  you.  But  this  fellow  here,  hasn't  brains  enough 
to  tell  his  own  property  from  that  of  another  man.  I  would 
let  him  into  our  bread-lockers,  without  any  dread  of  his 
knowing  enough  to  eat.  I  never  saw  such  a  vacancy  in  a 
human  form ;  a  down-east  idiot  would  wind  him  up  in  a 
trade,  as  handily  as  a  pedlar  sets  his  wooden  clocks  in 
motion." 

Such  was  Marble's  opinion  of  the  sagacity  of  Mr. 
Smudge  ;  and,  to  own  the  truth,  such,  in  a  great  measure, 
was  my  own.  The  men  laughed  at  the  remarks  —  seamen 
are  a  little  apt  to  laugh  at  chief-mates'  wit  —  and  their 
looks  showed  how  thoroughly  they  coincided  with  us  in 
opinion.  All  this  time,  the  boat  had  been  pushing  ahead, 
and  it  soon  reached  the  mouth  of  the  little  creek. 

We  found  the  inlet  deep,  but  narrow  and  winding.  Like 
the  bay  itself,  it  was  fringed  with  trees  and  bushes,  and  this 
in  a  way  to  render  it  difficult  to  get  a  view  of  anything  on 
the  land ;  more  especially  as  the  banks  were  ten  or  fifteen 
feet  in  height.  Under  the  circumstances,  Marble  proposed 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  1,85 

that  we  should  land  on  both  sides  of  the  creek,  and  follow 
its  windings  on  foot,  for  a  short  distance,  in  order  to  get  a 
better  opportunity  to  reconnoitre.  Our  dispositions  were 
soon  made.  Marble  and  one  of  the  boat's  crew,  each 
armed,  landed  on  one  side  of  the  inlet,  while  Neb  and  my 
self,  similarly  provided,  went  ashore  on  the  other.  The  two 
remaining  men  were  ordered  to  keep  abreast  of  us  in  the 
boat,  in  readiness  to  take  us  on  board  again,  as  soon  as 
required. 

"  Leave  that  Mr.  Smudge  in  the  boat,  Miles,"  Marble 
called  out  across  the  creek,  as  I  was  about  to  put  foot  on 
the  ground.  I  made  a  sign  to  that  effect  to  the  savage,  but 
when  I  reached  the  level  ground  on  the  top  of  the  bank,  I 
perceived  the  fellow  was  at  my  elbow.  It  was  so  difficult 
to  make  such  a  creature  understand  one's  wishes,  without 
the  aid  of  speech,  that,  after  a  fruitless  effort  or  two  to  send 
him  back  by  means  of  signs,  I  abandoned  the  attempt,  and 
moved  forward,  so  as  to  keep  the  whole  party  in  the  desired 
line.  Neb  offered  to  catch  the  old  fellow  in  his  arms,  and 
to  carry  him  down  to  the  yawl ;  but  I  thought  it  more  pru 
dent  to  avoid  anything  like  violence.  We  proceeded,  there 
fore,  accompanied  by  this  escort. 

There  was  nothing,  however,  to  excite  alarm,  or  awaken 
distrust.  We  found  ourselves  in  a  virgin  forest,  with  all 
its  wildness,  dampness,  gloomy  shadows,  dead  and  fallen 
trees,  and  unequal  surface.  On  my  side  of  the  creek,  there 
was  not  the  smallest  sign  of  a  foot-path  ;  and  Marble  soon 
called  out  to  say,  he  was  equally  without  any  evidences  of 
the  steps  of  man.  I  should  think  we  proceeded  quite  a 
mile  in  this  manner,  certain  that  the  inlet  would  be  a  true 
guide  on  our  return.  At  length  a  call  from  the  boat  let  us 
Ic^ow  there  was  no  longer  water  enough  to  float  it,  and  that 
it  could  proceed  no  farther.  Marble  and  myself  descended 
the  banks  at  the  same  moment,  and  were  taken  in,  intending 
to  return  in  the  yawl.  Smudge  glided  back  to  his  old  place, 
with  his  former  silence. 

"  I  told  you  to  leave  the  ourang-outang  behind,"  Marbie 
carelessiy  observed,  as  he  took  his  own  seat,  after  assisting 
in  getting  the  boat  round,  with  its  head  towards  the  bay. 
'  I  would  rather  have  a  rattbsnake  for  a  pet,  than  such  a 
cub." 

16* 


186  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  It  is  easier  said  than  done,  sir.  Master  Smudge  stuck 
to  me  as  close  as  a  leech." 

"The  fellow  seems  all  the  better  for  his  walk  —  I  never 
saw  him  look  half  as  amiable  as  he  does  at  this  moment." 

Of  course  this  raised  a  laugh,  and  it  induced  me  to  look 
round.  For  the  first  time,  I  could  detect  something  like  a 
human  expression  in  the  countenance  of  Smudge,  who 
seemed  to  experience  some  sensation  a  little  akin  to  satis 
faction. 

"  I  rather  think  he  had  taken  it  into  his  head  we  were 
about  to  desert  the  coppers,"  I  remarked,  "  and  fancied  he 
might  lose  his  supper.  Now,  he  must  see  we  are  going 
back,  he  probably  fancies  he  will  go  to  bed  on  a  full 
stomach." 

Marble  assented  to  the  probability  of  this  conjecture,  and 
the  conversation  changed.  It  was  matter  of  surprise  to  us 
that  we  had  met  no  traces  of  anything  like  a  residence  near 
the  creek,  not  the  smallest  sign  of  man  having  been  disco 
vered  by  either.  It  was  reasonable  to  expect  that  some 
traces  of  an  encampment,  at  least,  would  have  been  found. 
Everybody  kept  a  vigilant  look-out  at  the  shore  as  we  de 
scended  the  creek ;  but,  as  on  the  ascent,  not  even  a  foot 
print  was  detected. 

On  reaching  the  bay,  there  being  still  several  hours  of 
day-light,  we  made  its  entire  circuit,  finding  nowhere  any 
proof  of  the  former  presence  of  man.  At  length,  Marblo 
proposed  pulling  to  the  small  wooded  island  that  lay  a  little 
without  the  entrance  of  the  haven,  suggesting  that  it  was 
possible  the  savages  might  have  something  like  an  encamp 
ment  there,  the  place  being  more  convenient  as  a  look-out 
into  the  offing,  than  any  point  within  the  bay  itself.  In 
order  to  do  this,  it  was  necessary  to  pass  the  ship ;  and  we 
were  hailed  by  the  captain,  who  wished  to  know  the  result 
of  our  examinations.  As  soon  as  he  learned  our  present 
object,  he  told  us  to  come  alongside,  intending  to  accompany 
us  to  the  island  in  person.  On  getting  into  the  boat,  which 
was  small  and  a  little  crowded  by  the  presence  of  Smudge, 
Captain  Williams  made  a  sign  for  that  personage  to  quit  the 
yawl.  He  might  as  well  have  intimated  as  much  to  one  of 
the  thwarts  !  Laughing  at  the  savage's  stupidity,  or  obsti 
nacy,  we  scarce  knew  which  to  term  it,  the  boat  was  shoved 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  187 

off,  and  we  pulled  through  the  entrance,  two  hundred  yards 
outside  perhaps,  until  our  keel  grated  against  the  low  rocks 
of  this  islet. 

There  was  no  difficulty  in  landing ;  and  Neb,  who  pre 
ceded  the  party,  soon  gave  a  shout,  the  proof  that  he  had 
made  some  discovery.  Every  man  among  us  now  looked 
to  his  arms,  expecting  to  meet  an  encampment  of  savages ; 
but  we  were  disappointed.  All  that  the  negro  had  disco 
vered  were  the  unequivocal  traces  of  a  former  bivouac;  and, 
judging  from  a  few  of  the  signs,  that  of  no  very  recent 
occupation.  The  traces  were  extensive,  covering  quite  half 
of  the  interior  of  the  island  ;  leaving  an  extensive  curtain  of 
trees  and  bushes,  however,  so  as  completely  to  conceal  the 
spot  from  any  eyes  without.  Most  of  the  trees  had  been 
burnt  down,  as  we  at  first  thought,  in  order  to  obtain  fuel ; 
but,  farther  examination  satisfied  us,  that  it  had  been  done 
as  much  by  accident,  as  by  design. 

At  first,  nothing  was  discovered  in  this  encampment, 
which  had  every  appearance  of  not  having  been  extensively 
used  for  years,  though  the  traces  of  numerous  fires,  and  the 
signs  of  footsteps,  and  a  spring  in  the  centre,  indicated  the 
recent  occupation,  of  which  I  have  just  spoken.  A  little 
further  scrutiny,  however,  brought  to  light  certain  objects 
that  we  did  not  note  without  much  wonder  and  concern. 
Marble  made  the  first  discovery.  It  was  impossible  for  sea 
men  to  mistake  the  object,  which  was  the  head  of  a  rudder, 
containing  the  tiller-hole,  and  which  might  have  belonged  to 
a  vessel  of  some  two  hundred  and  fifty,  or  three  hundred 
tons.  This  set  all  hands  of  us  at  work,  and,  in  a  few 
minutes  we  found,  scattered  about,  fragments  of  plank,  top- 
timbers,  floor-timbers,  and  other  portions  of  a  ship,  all  more 
or  less  burnt,  and  stripped  of  every  particle  of  metal.  Even 
the  nails  had  been  drawn  by  means  of  perseverance  and 
labour.  Nothing  was  left  but  the  wood,  which  proved  to 
be  live-oak,  cedar  and  locust,  the  proofs  that  the  unfortunate 
craft  had  been  a  vessel  of  some  value.  We  wanted  no 
assurance  of  this,  however,  as  none  but  a  North-West  trader 
could  well  have  got  as  high  up  the  coast,  and  all  vessels  of 
that  class  were  of  the  best  description.  Then  the  locust,  a 
wood  unknown  to  the  shi/i-builders  of  Europe,  gave  us  tho 


188  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

nearly  certain  assurance  that  this  doomed  craft  had  been  a 
countryman. 

At  first,  we  were  all  too  much  occupied  with  our  interest- 
ing  discovery  to  bethink  us  of  Smudge.  At  length,  I  turned 
to  observe  its  effect  on  the  savage.  He  evidently  noted  our 
proceedings ;  but  his  feelings,  if  the  creature  had  any,  were 
so  deeply  buried  beneath  the  mask  of  dullness,  as  completely 
to  foil  my  penetration.  He  saw  us  take  up  fragment  after 
fragment,  examine  them,  heard  us  converse  over  them, 
though  in  a  language  he  could  not  understand,  and  saw  us 
throw  them  away,  one  after  another,  with  seemingly  equal 
indifference.  At  length  he  brought  a  half-burned  billet  to 
the  captain,  and  held  it  before  his  eyes,  as  if  he  began  to 
feel  some  interest  in  our  proceedings.  It  proved  to  be  merely 
a  bit  of  ordinary  wood,  a  fragment  of  one  of  the  beeches  of 
the  forest  that  lay  near  an  extinguished  pile ;  and  the  act 
satisfied  us  all,  the  fellow  did  not  comprehend  the  reason  of 
the  interest  we  betrayed.  He  clearly  knew  nothing  of  the 
strange  vessel. 

In  walking  around  this  deserted  encampment,  the  traces 
of  a  pathway  to  the  shore  were  found.  They  were  too  ob 
vious  to  be  mistaken,  and  led  us  to  the  water  in  the  passage 
opposite  to  that  by  which  the  Crisis  had  been  carried  in  by 
the  Dipper,  and  at  a  point  that  was  not  in  view  from  her 
present  anchorage.  Here  we  found  a  sort  of  landing,  and 
many  of  the  heavier  pieces  of  the  wreck ;  such  as  it  had 
not  been  thought  necessary  to  haul  up  to  the  fires,  having 
no  metal  about  them.  Among  other  things  of  this  sort,  was 
a  portion  of  the  keel  quite  thirty  feet  long,  the  keelson  bolts, 
keelson,  and  flo*or-timbers  all  attached.  This  was  the  only 
instance  in  which  we  discovered  any  metal ;  and  this  we 
found,  only  because  the  fragment  was  too  strong  and  heavy 
to  be  manageable.  We  looked  carefully,  in  all  directions, 
in  the  hope  of  discovering  something  that  might  give  us  au 
insight  into  the  nature  of  the  disaster  that  had  evidently 
occurred,  but,  for  some  time  without  success.  At  length 
I  strolled  to  a  little  distance  from  the  landing,  and  took  a 
seat  on  a  flat  stone,  which  had  been  placed  on  the  living 
rock  that  faced  most  of  the  island,  evidently  to  form  a  rest 
ing-place.  My  seat  proved  unsteady,  and  in  endeavouring 
to  adjust  it  more  to  my  mind,  I  removed  the  stone,  and  dia- 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  189 

covered  that  it  rested  on  a  common  log-slate.  This  slate 
was  still  covered  with  legible  writing,  and  I  soon  had  the 
whole  party  around  me,  eager  to  learn  the  contents.  The 
melancholy  record  was  in  these  precise  words  :  viz. — 

"  The  American  brig  Sea-Otter,  John  Squires,  master, 
coaxed  into  this  bay,  June  9th,  1797,  and  seized  by  savages, 
on  the  morning  of  the  llth.  Master,  second-mate,  and  seven 
of  the  people  killed  on  the  spot.  Brig  gutted  first,  then 
hauled  up  here,  and  burnt  to  the  water's  edge  for  the  iron. 
David  King,  firs-t-mate,  and  six  others,  viz.,  George  Lunt, 
Henry  Webster,  Stephen  Stimpson  and  John  Harris,  sea 
men,  Bill  Flint,  cook,  and  Peter  Doolittle,  boy,  still  living, 
but  God  only  knows  what  is  to  be  our  fate.  I  shall  put  this 
slate  beneath  the  stone  I  now  sit  on,  in  the  hope  it  may  one 
day  let  our  friends  learn  what  has  happened." — 

We  looked  at  each  other,  astounded.  Both  the  captain 
and  Marble  remembered  to  have  heard  that  a  brig  in  this 
trade,  called  the  Sea-Otter,  was  missing ;  and,  here,  by  a 
communication  that  was  little  short  of  miraculous,  we  were 
let  into  the  secret  of  her  disappearance. 

"  Coaxed  in  —  "  repeated  the  captain,  running  his  eye 
over  the  writing,  which  had  been  thus  singularly  preserved, 
and  that,  in  a  situation  where  one  would  think  it  might  have 
been  discovered  a  thousand  times. — "  Yes,  yes — I  now  begin 
to  understand  the  whole  matter.  If  there  were  any  wind, 
gentlemen,  I  would  go  to  sea  this  very  night." 

"  That  would  be  hardly  worth  our  while,  Captain  Wil 
liams,"  the  chief-mate  answered,  "  since  we  are  now  on  our 
guard,  and  I  feel  pretty  certain  that  there  are  no  savages  in 
our  neighbourhood.  So  far,  the  Dipper  and  his  friends  have 
traded  with  us  fairly  enough,  and  it  is  likely  they  have  more 
skins  to  dispose  of.  This  chap,  whom  the  people  have 
christened  Smudge,  takes  matters  so  coolly,  that  I  hardly 
think  he  knows  anything  about  the  Sea-Otter,  which  may 
have  been  cut  off  by  another  gang,  altogether." 

There  was  good  reason  in  these  remarks,  and  they  had 
their  effect  on  the  captain.  The  latter,  however,  determined 
to  put  Smudge  to  the  proof,  by  showing  him  the  slate,  and 
otherwise  bringing  him  under  such  a  cross-examination  aa 
signs  alone  could  effect.  I  dare  say,  an  indifferent  specta 
tor  would  have  laughed  at  witnessing  our  efforts  to  confound 


190  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

the  Indian.  We  made  grimaces,  pointed,  exclaimed,  hal 
looed,  swore,  and  gesticulated  in  vain.  Smudge  was  as  un 
moved  at  it  all,  as  the  fragment  of  keel  to  which  he  was 
confronted.  The  fellow  either  did  not,  or  would  not  under 
stand  us.  His  stupidity  defied  our  tests ;  and  Marble  gave 
the  matter  up  in  despair,  declaring  that  "  the  beast  knows 
nothing  of  anything,  much  less  of  the  Sea-Otter."  As  for 
the  slate,  he  did  not  seem  to  have  the  smallest  notion  what 
such  a  thing  meant. 

We  returned  to  the  ship,  carrying  with  us  the  slate,  and 
the  report  of  our  discoveries.  All  hands  were  called,  and 
the  captain  made  us  a  speech.  It  was  sufficiently  to  the 
point,  though  it  was  not  in  the  least,  of  the  "  God-like" 
character.  We  were  told  how  ships  were  lost  by  the  care 
lessness  of  their  crews ;  reminded  we  were  on  the  North- 
West  Coast,  where  a  vessel  with  a  few  boxes  of  beads  and 
bales  of  blankets,  to  say  nothing  of  her  gunpowder,  fire 
arms,  and  metals,  was  as  valuable,  as  a  vessel  laden  with 
gold  dust  would  be  in  one  of  our  own  ports.  Vigilance, 
while  on  watch,  and  obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  vessel, 
in  the  event  of  an  alarm,  were  the  principal  things  dwelt 
on.  By  observing  these  two  great  requisites,  we  should  all 
be  safe  enough ;  whereas,  by  disregarding  them,  we  should 
probably  share  the  fate  of  the  people  of  the  brig,  of  which 
we  had  just  discovered  some  of  the  remains. 

I  will  confess,  I  passed  an  uncomfortable  night.  An  un 
known  enemy  is  always  a  formidable  enemy ;  and  I  would 
rather  have  fought  three  guarda-costas  at  once,  than  lie 
where  we  did,  in  a  bay  as  smooth  as  a  looking-glass,  sur 
rounded  by  forests  as  silent  as  a  desert,  and  in  a  well-armed 
ship,  that  was  prepared  at  all  points,  to  meet  her  foes,  even 
to  her  boarding-nettings. 

Nothing  came  of  it  all.  The  Dipper  and  Smudge  eat 
their  supper  with  the  appetites  of  injured  innocence,  and 
slept  like  tops.  If  guilty,  we  all  agreed  that  they  must  be 
utterly  destitute  of  consciences.  As  for  ourselves,  we  were 
on  the  alert  until  near  morning,  the  very  moment  when 
the  danger  would  probably  be  the  greatest,  provided  there 
were  any  at  all ;  and  then  weariness  overcame  all  who  were 
not  on  the  look-out,  and  some  who  were.  Still,  nothing 
happened.  The  sun  returned  to  us  in  due  season,  gilding 


AffLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  101 

the  tree-tops  with  its  beams ;  our  little  bay  began  to  bask  in 
its  glory,  and  with  the  cheerfulness  that  usually  accompa 
nies  such  a  scene,  vanished  most  of  our  apprehensions  for 
the  moment.  A  night  of  reflection  had  quieted  our  fears, 
and  we  all  woke  up  next  morning,  as  indifferent  to  the  fate 
of  the  Sea-Otter,  as  was  at  all  decent. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

•*  The  monarch  mind — the  mystery  of  commanding, 
The  godlike  power — the  art  NAPOLEON, 
Of  winning,  fettering,  moulding,  wielding,  banding 
The  hearts  of  millions,  till  they  move  as  one ; 
Thou  hast  it." 

HALLECK — Red  Jacket. 

SMUDGE  and  the  Dipper  behaved  admirably  all  next  day. 
Beef,  pork  and  bread — those  great  desiderata  of  life,  which 
the  European  is  apt  to  say  form  the  primum  mobile  of  Ame 
rican  existence — seemed  to  engross  their  thoughts  ;  and  when 
they  were  not  eating,  they  were  busy  with  sleep.  At  length 
we  grew  ashamed  of  watching  such  mere  animals,  and 
turned  our  thoughts  to  other  subjects.  We  had  understood 
the  Dipper,  that  eight-and-forty  hours  must  elapse  before  wo 
might  expect  to  see  any  more  skins ;  and  Captain  Williams, 
passing  from  alarm  to  extreme  security,  determined  to  profit 
by  a  lovely  day,  and  send  down,  or  rather  strip,  all  three 
of  the  top-masts,  and  pay  some  necessary  attention  to  their 
rigging.  At  nine  o'clock,  accordingly,  the  hands  were 
turned-to,  and  before  noon  the  ship  was  pretty  thoroughly 
en  deshabille.  We  sent  as  little  down  as  possible,  keeping 
even  the  top-sail-yards  aloft,  though  without  their  lifts  or 
braces,  steadying  them  by  guys ;  but  the  top-masts  were 
lowered  as  far  as  was  found  possible,  without  absolutely 
placing  the  tower  yards  on  the  hammock-cloths.  In  a 
word,  we  put  the  ship  in  the  most  unmanageable  position, 
without  absolutely  littering  our  decks.  The  security  of  the 
haven,  and  the  extreme  beauty  of  the  weather,  emboldened 


192  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

the  captain  to  do  this ;  apprehension  of  every  sort  appearing 
to  have  quite  taken  leave  of  him. 

The  work  proceeded  merrily.  We  had  not  only  a  strong 
crew,  but  we  had  a  good  crew  ;  and  our  Philadelphians  were 
in  their  element,  the  moment  there  was  a  question  of  the 
rigging.  By  sunset,  the  chafes  were  examined,  and  par 
celled,  and  served  anew ;  and  the  top-mast  rigging  was  all 
got  up  and  put  over  the  mast-heads  again,  and  everything 
was  ready  to  sway  upon  in  the  morning.  But  an  uncom 
monly  active  day  required  a  good  night's  rest;  and  the 
people  were  all  ordered  to  turn  in,  as  soon  as  they  had 
supped.  The  ship  was  to  be  left  to  the  vigilance  of  the  cap 
tain  and  the  three  mates,  during  the  night. 

The  anchor-watch  was  set  at  eight,  and  ran  from  two 
hours,  to  two  hours.  My  turn  commenced  at  midnight,  and 
was  to  last  until  two ;  Marble  succeeding  me  from  two  until 
four,  when  all  hands  were  to  be  called  to  get  our  sticks  aloft. 
When  I  turned  out  at  twelve,  I  found  the  third-mate  con 
versing,  as  well  as  he  could,  with  the  Dipper ;  who,  with 
Smudge,  having  slept  so  much  of  the  day,  appeared  disposed 
to  pass  the  night  in  smoking. 

"How  long  have  these  fellows  been  on  deck?"  I  asked 
of  the  third-mate,  as  he  was  about  to  go  below. 

"  All  my  watch ;  I  found  them  with  the  captain,  who 
passed  them  over  to  me  for  company.  If  that  chap,  the 
Dipper,  only  knew  anything  of  a  human  language,  he  would 
be  something  of  society ;  but  I  'm  as  tired  of  making  signs 
to  him,  as  I  ever  was  with  a  hard  day's  work." 

I  was  armed,  and  felt  ashamed  of  manifesting  fear  of  an 
unarmed  man.  Then  the  two  savages  gave  no  additional 
cause  of  distrust ;  the  Dipper  having  taken  a  seat  on  the 
windlass,  where  he  was  smoking  his  pipe  with  an  appear 
ance  of  philosophy  that  would  have  done  credit  to  the 
gra\&est-looking  baboon.  As  for  Smudge,  he  did  not  appear 
to  be  sufficiently  intellectual  to  smoke;  an  occupation  that 
has  at  least  the  merit  of  affecting  the  air  of  wisdom  and 
reflection.  I  never  could  discover  whether  your  great  smo 
kers  were  actually  wiser  than  the  rest  of  the  race,  or  not; 
but,  it  will  be  admitted,  they  occasionally  seem  to  be  so.  It 
was  a  pity  Smudge  did  not  have  recourse  to  the  practice,  as 
it  might  have  given  the  fellow  an  appearance  of  sometimes 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  193 

cogitating.  As  it  was,  while  his  companion  was  enjoying 
his  pipe  at  the  windlass,  he  kept  strolling  about  the  deck, 
much  as  a  pig  would  have  wandered  in  the  same  place,  and 
seemingly  with  the  same  object. 

I  took  charge  of  the  decks  with  a  very  lively  sense  of  the 
peculiarity  of  our  situation.  The  security  that  prevailed  on 
board  struck  me  as  unnatural ;  and  yet  I  could  detect  no 
particular  reason  for  immediate  alarm.  I  might  be  thrown 
overboard  or  murdered  by  the  two  savages  on  deck,  it  was 
very  true ;  but  of  what  use  would  it  be  to  destroy  me,  since 
they  could  not  hope  to  destroy  all  the  rest  on  board  without 
being  discovered.  The  night  was  star-lit,  and  there  was 
little  chance  of  a  canoe's  approaching  the  ship  without  my 
seeing  it ;  a  circumstance  that,  of  itself,  in  a  great  measure, 
removed  the  danger.  I  passed  the  first  quarter  of  an  hour 
in  reflecting  on  these  things ;  and  then,  as  use  accustomed 
me  to  my  situation,  I  began  to  think  less  of  them,  and  to 
revert  to  other  subjects. 

Clawbonny,  Grace,  Lucy,  and  Mr.  Hardinge,  often  rose 
before  my  mind's  eye,  in  those  distant  seas.  It  was  seldom 
I  passed  a  tranquil  watch  at  night,  without  revisiting  the 
scenes  of  my  boyhood,  and  wandering  through  my  own 
fields,  accompanied  by  my  beloved  sister,  and  her  quite  as 
well  beloved  friend.  How  many  hours  of  happiness  had  I 
thus  passed  on  the  trackless  wastes  of  the  Pacific  and  the 
Atlantic ;  and  with  how  much  fidelity  did  memory  recall  the 
peculiar  graces,  whether  of  body  or  mind,  of  each  of  the 
dear  girls  in  particular!  Since  my  recent  experience  in 
London,  Emily  Merton  would  occasionally  adorn  the  pic 
ture,  with  her  more  cultivated  discourse  and  more  finished 
manner ;  and  yet  I  do  not  remember  to  have  ever  given  her 
more  than  a  third  place  on  the  scale  of  my  admiration. 

On  the  present  occasion  I  was  soon  lost  in  ruminations  on 
the  past,  and  in  imagining  events  for  the  future.  I  was  not 
particularly  expert  at  building  castles  in  the  air ;  but  what 
youth  of  twenty,  or  maiden  of  sixteen,  never  reared  some 
sort  of  a  fabric  of  this  nature?  These  fanciful  structures 
are  the  results  of  inexperience  building  with  the  materials  of 
hope.  In  my  most  imaginative  moments,  I  could  even  fancy 
Rupert  an  industrious,  staid  lawyer,  adorning  his  profession, 


194  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

and  rendering  both  Lucy  and  Grace  happy.    Beyond 
it  was  not  easy  for  the  human  faculties  to  conceive. 

Lucy  sang  sweetly.  At  times,  her  songs  fairly  haunted 
me,  and  for  hours  I  could  think  of  nothing  but  their  tender 
sentiment  and  their  touching  melody.  I  was  no  nightingale 
myself,  though  I  sometimes  endeavoured  to  hum  some  one 
of  the  airs  that  floated  in  my  recollection,  like  beautiful 
visions  of  the  past.  This  night,  in  particular,  my  thoughts 
recurrred  to  one  of  these  songs  that  told  of  affection  and 
home ;  and  I  stood,  for  several  minutes,  leaning  over  the 
railing  forward,  humming  the  tune  to  myself,  while  I  en 
deavoured  to  recall  not  only  the  words,  but  the  sweet  voice 
that  was  wont  to  give  them  so  much  thrilling  pathos.  I  did 
this  sometimes  at  Clawbonny ;  and  time  and  again  had  Lucy 
placed  her  soft  little  hand  on  my  mouth,  as  she  would  laugh 
ingly  say,  "  Miles,  Miles !  do  not  spoil  so  pretty  a  song ! 
You  will  never  succeed  with  music,  so  work  the  harder  with 
your  Latin."  Sometimes  she  would  steal  behind  me — I 
fancied  I  could  hear  her  breathing  at  my  shoulder,  even  as 
I  leaned  over  the  rail — and  would  apply  her  hand  slyly  to 
my  lips,  in  her  many  attempts  of  this  nature.  So  vivid  did 
one  of  these  scenes  become,  that  1  thought  I  really  felt  the 
soft  smooth  hand  on  my  mouth,  and  I  was  actually  about  to 
kiss  it,  when  something  that  was  smooth  enough,  certainly, 
but  which  was  very  far  from  being  soft,  passed  between  my 
teeth,  and  I  felt  it  drawn  so  tight  as  completely  to  prevent 
my  calling  out.  At  the  same  moment,  my  arms  were  seized 
from  behind,  and  held  as  if  grasped  by  a  vice.  Turning,  as 
well  as  I  was  able,  I  found  that  rascal  Smudge  had  been 
breathing  within  an  inch  of  my  ear,  while  he  passed  the 
gag  ;  and  the  Dipper  was  busy  in  lashing  my  arms  together 
behind  my  back.  The  whole  had  been  done  so  suddenly, 
and  yet  with  so  much  skill,  that  I  was  a  helpless  prisoner, 
as  it  might  be,  in  a  single  instant ! 

Resistance  being  as  much  out  of  my  power  as  it  was  to 
give  any  alarm,  I  was  soon  secured,  hands  and  feet,  and 
placed  carefully  in  the  waist,  a  little  out  of  the  way ;  for  1 
probably  owed  my  life  solely  to  the  wish  of  Smudge  to  keep 
me  as  his  slave.  From  that  instant  every  appearance  of 
stupidity  vanished  from  this  fellow's  countenance  and  man 
ner,  and  he  became  the  moving  spirit,  and  I  might  say  the 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  195 

soul,  of  all  the  proceedings  of  his  companions.  As  for  my 
self,  there  I  sat,  lashed  to  a  spar,  utterly  unable  to  help 
myself,  an  unwilling  witness  of  all  that  followed.  I  felt  the 
imminent  danger  of  our  situation,  but  I  think  I  felt  the  dis 
grace  of  having  such  a  surprise  occur  in  my  watch,  more 
even  than  the  personal  risks  I  ran ! 

In  the  first  place,  I  was  disarmed.  Then,  the  Dipper  took 
a  lantern  which  stood  on  the  binnacle,  lighted  it,  and  showed 
it,  for  half  a  minute,  above  the  taffrail.  His  signal  must  have 
been  instantly  answered,  for  he  soon  extinguished  the  light, 
and  moved  about  the  deck,  in  attentive  watchfulness  to  seize 
any  straggler,  who  might  happen  to  come  on  deck.  Little  fear 
of  that,  however,  weariness  chaining  the  men  to  their  berths 
as  closely  as  if  they  had  been  bolted  down  with  iron.  I 
now  expected  to  see  the  fellows  fill  the  yawl  with  effects, 
and  run  away  with  them,  for,  as  yet,  I  could  not  believe 
that  two  men  would  have  the  hardihood  to  attack  such  a 
ship's  company  as  ours. 

I  reckoned  without  my  host.  It  might  have  been  ten 
minutes  after  I  was  seized,  that  dark-looking  figures  began 
to  climb  the  ship's  sides,  until  more  than  thirty  of  them  were 
on  her  decks.  This  was  done  so  noiselessly,  too,  that  the 
most  vigilant  attention  on  my  part  gave  no  notice  of  their 
approach,  until  they  stood  among  us.  All  these  men  were 
armed ;  a  few  with  muskets ;  others  with  clubs,  and  some 
with  bows  and  arrows.  So  far  as  I  could  discover,  each 
had  some  sort  of  a  knife,  and  a  few  had  hatchets,  or  toma 
hawks.  To  my  great  regret,  I  saw  that  three  or  four  were 
immediately  stationed  at  the  companion-way,  aft,  and  as 
many  more  at  the  booby-hatch,  forward.  This  was  effectually 
commanding  the  only  two  passages  by  which  the  officers 
and  men  would  be  likely  to  ascend,  in  the  event  of  their  at 
tempting  to  come  on  deck.  It  is  true,  the  main  hatch,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  steerage,  was  used  by  day,  but  both  had 
been  covered  over  night,  and  no  one  would  think  of  using 
either,  unless  aware  of  the  danger  that  existed  on  deck. 

I  suffered  a  good  deal,  both  from  the  gag  and  the  ropes 

that  bound  my  limbs,  and  yet  I  hardly  thought  of  the  pain, 

so  intense  was  my  curiosity  as  to  what  was  to  follow.    After 

he  savages  were  all  on  board,  the  first  quarter  of  an  hour 

passed  in  making  their  dispositions,  Smudge,  the  stupid,  in- 


196  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

animate,  senseless  Smudge,  acting  as  leader,  and  manifest, 
ing  not  only  author!' y,  but  readiness  and  sagacity.  He 
placed  all  his  people  in  ambush,  so  that,  one  appearing  from 
below,  would  not  at  once  be  apprized  of  the  change  that  had 
taken  place  on  deck,  and  thus  give  the  savages  time  to  act. 
After  this,  another  quarter  of  an  hour  passed,  during  which 
the  fall  of  a  pin  might  almost  have  been  heard,  so  profound 
was  the  silence.  I  shut  my  eyes  in  this  terrific  interval, 
and  endeavoured  to  pray. 

"  On  deck,  here — forward,  there  !"  said  a  voice  suddenly, 
that,  at  once,  I  knew  to  be  the  captain's.  I  would  have 
given  the  world  to  be  able  to  answer,  in  order  to  warn  him 
of  the  danger,  but  this  was  impossible.  I  did  groan,  and  I 
believe  the  captain  heard  me ;  for  he  moved  away  from  the 
cabin-door,  and  called  out  "Mr.  Wallingford  —  where  have 
you  got  to,  Mr.  Wallingford?"  He  was  without  his  hat, 
having  come  on  deck  half-clad,  simply  to  ascertain  how 
went  the  night,  and  it  makes  me  shudder,  even  now,  to  write 
about  the  blow  that  fell  on  his  unprotected  skull.  It  would 
have  felled  an  ox,  and  it  crushed  him  on  the  spot.  The 
caution  of  his  murderers  prevented  his  falling,  however,  for 
they  did  not  wish  to  alarm  the  sleepers  below ;  though  the 
plash  on  the  water  that  followed,  could  not  fail  to  reach 
ears  which  took  in  every  sound  with  the  avidity  of  mine. 
Thus  perished  Captain  Williams,  a  mild,  well-meaning  man, 
an  excellent  seaman,  and  one  whose  principal  fault  was 
want  of  caution.  I  do  not  think  the  water  was  necessary  to 
complete  his  fate,  as  nothing  human  could  have  survived 
such  a  blow. 

Smudge  had  been  the  principal  actor  in  this  frightful 
scene  ;  and,  as  soon  as  it  was  over,  he  caused  his  men  to 
return  to  their  ambushes.  I  now  thought  the  officers  and 
men  were  to  be  murdered,  in  this  manner,  as  one  by  one 
they  appeared  on  deck.  It  would  soon  be  time  for  Marble 
to  turn  out,  though  there  was  the  hope  he  might  not  unless 
called,  and  I  could  not  do  this  office,  situated  as  I  was.  But, 
I  was  mistaken.  Instead  of  enticing  any  men  on  deck,  the 
savages  pursued  a  different  course.  Having  destroyed  the 
captain,  they  closed  the  doors  of  the  companion-way,  drew 
over  the  booby-hatch,  and  adopted  the  safe  expedient  o1 
making  all  below  prisoners.  This  was  not  done  altogether 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  197 

without  noise,  and  the  alarm  was  evidently  given  by  the 
means  taken  to  secure  the  fastenings.  I  heard  a  rush  at 
the  cabin-doors,  which  was  soon  followed  by  one  at  the 
booby-hatch  ;  but  Smudge's  ingenuity  had  been  sufficient  to 
prevent  either  from  being  successful. 

As  soon  as  certain  that  their  prisoners  were  safe,  the  savages 
came  and  loosened  the  ropes  of  my  arms  sufficiently  to  put 
me  more  at  my  ease.  They  removed  those  whic.x  bound 
my  feet  entirely,  and,  at  the  same  instant,  the  gaj  was 
taken  from  my  mouth.  I  was  then  led  to  the  companion- 
way,  and,  by  a  sign,  given  to  understand  I  might  commnni- 
cate  with  my  friends  below.  In  the  management  of  all  this, 
I  found  that  Smudge,  the  semi-human,  dull,  animal-seeming 
Smudge,  was  at  the  head.  I  also  came  to  the  conclusion 
my  life  was  to  be  spared,  for  a  time  at  least,  and  for  some 
purpose  that,  as  yet,  baffled  my  conjectures.  I  did  not  call 
out  immediately,  but  waited  until  I  heard  a  movement  on 
the  ladder,  when  I  complied  with  the  orders  of  my  captors 
and  masters. 

"  Mr.  Marble,"  I  cried,  loud  enough  to  be  heard  below ; 
"  is  that  you  ?" 

"  Ay,  ay — and  is  that  you,  Master  Miles  ?" 

"  This  is  I.  Be  cautious  how  you  act,  Mr.  Marble.  The 
savages  are  in  possession  of  the  upper  deck,  and  I  am  their 
prisoner.  The  people  are  all  below,  with  a  strong  watch  at 
the  fore-scuttle." 

I  heard  a  long,  low  whistle,  within  the  companion-way 
doors,  which  it  was  easy  enough  to  interpret  into  an  expres 
sion  of  the  chief-mate's  concern  and  wonder.  For  myself, 
I  saw  no  use  in  attempting  concealment,  but  was  resolved 
to  speak  out  fully,  even  though  it  might  be  at  the  risk  of 
betraying  some  of  my  feelings  to  my  captors,  among  whom 
I  thought  it  probable  there  might  be  more  than  one  who 
understood  something'  of  English. 

"  We  miss  Captain  Williams  below  here,"  Marble  re 
sumed,  after  a  short  delay.  "  Do  you  know  anything  of 
his  movements?" 

"  Alas  !  Mr.  Marble  —  poor  Captain  Williams  can  be  of 
no  service  to  any  of  us,  now." 

"  What  of  him  ?"  was  demanded  in   a  clear,  full  voice 
and  as  quick  as  lightning.     "  Let  me  know,  at  once." 
17* 


198  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  He  has  been  killed  by  a  blow  from  a  club,  and  is  thrown 
overboard." 

A  dead  silence  followed,  and  it  lasted  near  a  minute. 

"  Then  it  has  fallen  to  my  duty  to  decide  what  is  to  be 
done !"  Marble  at  length  exclaimed.  "  Miles,  are  you  at 
liberty  ? — dare  you  say  what  you  think  ?" 

"  I  am  held  here,  by  two  of  the  savages,  whose  prisoner 
I  certe'aly  am.  Still,  Mr.  Marble,  they  encourage  me  to 
speak  ,  but  I  fear  some  among  them  understand  what  we 
say." 

There  was  another  pause,  during  which  the  mate  was 
doubtless  reflecting  on  the  best  course  to  pursue. 

u  Harkee,  Miles,"  Marble  continued,  "  we  know  each 
other,  and  can  tell  what  is  meant  without  blabbing.  How 
old  are  you,  out  there,  on  deck." 

"  Quite  thirty  years,  Mr.  Marble — and  good  stout  years 
they  are,  too." 

"  Well  provided  for,  with  sulphur  and  the  pills,  or  only 
with  Indian  tools,  such  as  our  boys  sometimes  play  with  ?" 

"A  little  of  the  first — half-a-dozen,  perhaps;  with  some 
of  the  last,  and  a  plenty  of  carvers." 

An  impatient  push  from  the  Dipper  warned  me  to  speak 
plainer,  and  satisfied  me  that  the  fellow  could  comprehend 
what  passed,  so  long  as  we  confined  ourselves  to  a  straight, 
forward  discourse.  This  discovery  had  the  effect  to  put  me 
still  more  on  my  guard. 

"  I  understand  you,  Miles,"  Marble  answered,  in  a 
thoughtful  manner  ;  "  we  must  be  on  our  guard.  Do  you 
think  they  mean  to  come  below  ?" 

"  I  see  no  signs  at  present  —  but  understanding — "  em 
phasizing  the  word,  "  is  more  general  than  you  imagine,  and 
no  secrets  must  be  told.  My  advice  is  '  Millions  for  defence, 
and  not  a  cent  for  tribute.'  " 

As  this  last  expression  was  common  in  the  mouths  of  the 
Americans  of  the  day,  having  been  used  on  the  occasion  of 
the  existing  war  with  France,  I  felt  confident  it  would  be 
understood.  Marble  made  no  answer,  and  I  was  permitted 
to  move  from  the  companion-way,  and  to  take  a  seat  on  the 
hen-coops.  My  situation  was  sufficiently  remarkable.  It 
was  still  dark  ;  but  enough  light  fell  from  the  stars  to  per 
mit  me  to  see  all  the  swarthy  and  savage  forms  that  were 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  199 

gliding  about  the  decks,  and  even  to  observe  something  of 
che  expression  of  the  countenances  of  those,  who,  from  time 
to  time,  came  near  to  stare  me  in  the  face.  The  last  seemed 
ferociously  disposed ;  but  it  was  evident  that  a  master-spirit 
held  all  these  wild  beings  in  strict  subjection ;  quelling  the 
turbulence  of  their  humours,  restraining  their  fierce  disposi 
tion  to  violence,  and  giving  concert  and  design  to  all  their 
proceedings.  This  master-spirit  was  Smudge !  Of  the 
fact,  I  could  not  doubt ;  his  gestures,  his  voice,  his  conn- 
ma  nds,  giving  movement  and  method  to  everything  that 
was  done.  I  observed  that  he  spoke  with  authority  and 
confidence,  though  he  spoke  calmly.  He  was  obeyed, 
without  any  particular  marks  of  deference,  but  he  was 
obeyed  implicitly.  I  could  also  see  that  the  savages  con 
sidered  themselves  as  conquerors  ;  caring  very  little  for  the 
men  under  hatches. 

Nothing  material  occurred  until  day  dawned.  Smudge— 
for  so  I  must  continue  to  call  this  revolting-looking  chief, 
for  want  of  his  true  name — would  permit  nothing  to  be 
attempted,  until  the  light  became  sufficiently  strong  to 
enable  him  to  note  the  proceedings  of  his  followers.  I  sub 
sequently  ascertained,  too,  that  he  waited  for  reinforcements, 
a  yell  being  raised  in  the  ship,  just  as  the  sun  appeared, 
which  was  answered  from  the  forest.  The  last  seemed 
fairly  alive  with  savages;  nor  was  it  long  before  canoes 
issued  from  the  creek,  and  I  counted  one  hundred  and  seven 
of  these  wretches  on  board  the  ship.  This  was  their  whole 
force,  however,  no  more  ever  appearing. 

All  this  time,  or  for  three  hours,  I  had  no  more  communi 
cation  with  our  own  people.  I  was  certain,  however,  that 
they  were  all  together,  a  junction  being  easy  enough,  by 
means  of  the  middle-deck,  which  had  no  other  cargo  than 
the  light  articles  intended  for  the  north-west  trade,  and  by 
knocking  down  the  forecastle  bulk-head.  There  was  a 
sliding  board  in  the  last,  indeed,  that  would  admit  of  one 
man's  passing  at  a  time,  without  having  recourse  to  this  last 
expedient.  I  entertained  no  doubt  Marble  had  collected  all 
hands  below ;  and,  being  in  possession  of  plenty  of  arms, 
the  men  having  carried  their  muskets  and  pistols  below  with 
them,  with  all  the  ammunition,  he  was  still  extremely  for 
midable.  What  course  he  would  pursue,  I  was  obliged  to 


200  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

conjecture.  A  sortie  would  have  been  very  hazardous,  if 
practicable  at  all ;  and  it  was  scarcely  practicable,  after  the 
means  taken  by  Smudge  and  the  Dipper  to  secure  the  pas 
sages.  Everything,  so  far  as  I  was  concerned,  was  left  to 
conjecture. 

The  manner  in  which  my  captors  treated  me,  excited  my 
surprise.  As  soon  as  it  was  light,  my  limbs  were  released, 
and  I  was  permitted  to  walk  up  and  down  the  quarter-deck 
to  restore  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  A  clot  of  blood, 
with  some  fragments  of  hair,  marked  the  spot  where  poor 
Captain  Williams  had  fallen ;  and  I  was  allowed  to  dash  a 
bucket  of  water  over  the  place,  in  order  to  wash  away  the 
revolting  signs  of  the  murder.  For  myself,  a  strange  reck 
lessness  had  taken  the  place  of  concern,  and  I  became  mo 
mentarily  indifferent  to  my  fate.  I  expected  to  die,  and  I 
am  now  ashamed  to  confess  that  my  feelings  took  a  direc 
tion  towards  revenge,  rather  than  towards  penitence  for  my 
past  sins.  At  times,  I  even  envied  Marble,  and  those  below, 
who  might  destroy  their  enemies  at  a  swoop,  by  throwing  a 
match  into  the  magazine.  I  felt  persuaded,  indeed,  it  would 
come  to  that  before  the  mate  and  men  would  submit  to  be  the 
captives  of  such  wretches  as  were  then  in  possession  of  the 
deck.  Smudge  and  his  associates,  however,  appeared  to  be 
perfectly  indifferent  to  this  danger,  of  the  character  of  which 
they  were  probably  ignorant.  Their  scheme  had  been 
very  cunningly  laid ;  and,  thus  far,  it  was  perfectly  suc 
cessful. 

The  sun  was  fairly  up,  and  the  savages  began  to  think 
seriously  of  securing  their  prize,  when  the  two  leaders, 
Smudge  and  the  Dipper,  approached  me  in  a  manner  to 
show  they  were  on  the  point  of  commencing  operations. 
The  last  of  these  men  I  now  discovered  had  a  trifling  know 
ledge  of  English,  which  he  had  obtained  from  different  ships. 
Still  he  was  a  savage,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  the  little 
information  thus  gleaned,  serving  to  render  his  worst  pro 
pensities  more  dangerous,  rather  than,  in  any  manner, 
tempering  them.  He  now  took  the  lead,  parading  all  his 
men  in  two  lines  on  the  deck,  making  a  significant  gesture 
towards  his  fingers,  and  uttering,  with  emphasis,  the  word 
"  count."  I  did  count  the  wretches,  making,  this  time,  one 
hundred  and  six,  exclusively  of  the  two  leaders. 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  201 

"  Tell  him,  down  there"  —  growled  the  Dipper,  pointing 
below. 

I  called  for  Mr.  Marble,  and  when  he  had  reached  the 
companion-way,  the  following  conversation  took  place  be 
tween  us: 

"  What  is  it  now,  Miles,  my  hearty  ?"  demanded  the  chief- 
mate. 

"  I  am  ordered  to  tell  you,  sir,  that  the  Indians  number 
one  hundred  and  eight,  having  just  counted  them,  for  this 
purpose." 

"  I  wish  there  were  a  thousand,  as  we  are  about  to  lift 
the  deck  from  the  ship,  and  send  them  all  into  the  air.  Do 
you  think  they  can  understand  what  I  say,  Miles  ?" 

"  The  Dipper  does,  sir,  when  you  speak  slow  and  plain. 
He  has  only  half  a  notion  of  what  you  now  mean,  as  I  can 
see  by  his  countenance." 

•'  Does  the  rascal  hear  me,  now  ?  —  is  he  anywhere  near 
the  companion-way  ?" 

"  He  does,  and  is  —  he  is  standing,  at  this  moment,  on 
the  larboard  side  of  the  companion-way,  kneeling  one  knee, 
on  the  forward  end  of  the  hen-coop." 

"  Miles" — said  Marble,  in  a  doubting  sort  of  a  voice. 

"  Mr.  Marble — I  hear  what  you  say." 

"  Suppose — eh — lead  through  the  companion-way— eh— 
what  would  happen  to  you  ?" 

"  I  should  care  little  for  that,  sir,  as  I  've  made  up  my 
mind  to  be  murdered.  But  it  would  do  no  good,  just  now, 
and  might  do  harm.  I  will  tell  them,  however,  of  your  in 
tention  to  blow  them  up,  if  you  please ;  perhaps  that  may 
make  them  a  little  shy." 

Marble  assented,  and  I  set  about  the  office,  as  well  as  I 
could.  Most  of  my  communication  had  to  be  made  by  means 
of  signs ;  but,  in  the  end,  I  succeeded  in  making  the  Dipper 
understand  my  meaning.  By  this  man  the  purport  was  told 
to  Smudge,  in  terms.  The  old  man  listened  with  grave  at 
tention,  but  the  idea  of  being  blown  up  produced  no  more 
effect  on  him,  than  would  have  been  produced  by  a  message 
from  home  to  tell  him  that  his  chimney  was  on  fire,  sup 
posing  him  to  have  possessed  such  a  civilized  instrument  of 
comfort.  That  he  fully  comprehended  his  friend,  I  could 
see  by  the  expression  of  his  ourang-outang-looking  counte- 


202  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

nance.  But  fear  was  a  passion  that  troubled  him  very  little ; 
and,  sooth  to  say,  a  man  whose  time  was  passed  in  a  condi 
tion  as  miserable  as  that  in  which  he  habitually  dwelt,  had 
no  great  reason  to  set  a  very  high  value  on  his  life.  Yet, 
these  miserable  wretches  never  commit  suicide  !  That  is  a 
relief  reserved  rather  for  those  who  have  become  satiated 
with  human  enjoyments,  nine  pampered  sensualists  dying  in 
this  mode,  for  one  poor  wretch  whose  miseries  have  driven 
him  to  despair. 

I  was  astonished  at  seeing  the  intelligence  that  gleamed 
in  the  baboon-like  face  of  Smudge,  as  he  listened  to  his 
friend's  words.  Incredulity  was  the  intellectual  meaning 
in  his  eye,  while  indifference  seemed  seated  in  his  whole 
visage. 

It  was  evident  the  threat  had  made  no  impression,  and  I 
managed  to  let  Marble  understand  as  much,  and  that  in 
terms  which  the  Dipper  could  not  very  well  comprehend.  I 
got  no  answer,  a  death-like  stillness  reigning  below  decks, 
in  lieu  of  the  bustle  that  had  so  lately  been  heard  there. 
Smudge  seemed  struck  with  the  change,  and  I  observed  he 
was  giving  orders  to  two  or  three  of  the  elder  savages, 
apparently  to  direct  a  greater  degree  of  watchfulness.  I 
confess  to  some  uneasiness  myself,  for  expectation  is  an 
unpleasant  guest,  in  a  scene  like  that,  and  more  especially 
when  accompanied  by  uncertainty. 

Smudge  now  seemed  to  think  it  time  to  commence  his 
operations  in  earnest.  Under  the  direction  of  the  Dipper  a 
quantity  of  line  was  thrown  into  the  yawl,  studding-halyards, 
and  such  other  rope  of  convenient  size  as  could  be  found  in 
the  launch,  and  the  boat  was  towed  by  two  or  three  canoes 
to  the  island.  Here  the  fellows  made  what  seamen  call  a 
"  guess-warp,"  of  their  rope ;  fastening  one  end  to  a  tree, 
and  paying  out  line,  as  the  yawl  was  towed  back  again  to 
the  ship.  The  Dipper's  calculation  proved  to  be  sufficiently 
accurate,  the  rope  reaching  from  the  vessel  to  the  tree. 

As  soon  as  this  feat  was  accomplished,  and  it  was  done 
with  sufficient  readiness,  though  somewhat  lubberly,  twenty 
or  thirty  of  the  savages  clapped  on  the  warp,  until  they  had 
tautened  it  to  as  great  a  strain  as  it  would  bear.  After 
this  they  ceased  pulling,  and  I  observed  a  search  around  the 
galley  in  quest  of  the  cook's  axe,  evidently  with  a  design  to 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  203 

cut  the  cables.  I  thought  this  a  fact  worth  communicating 
to  Marble,  and  I  resolved  to  do  so  at  the  risk  of  my  life. 

"  The  Indians  have  run  a  line  to  the  island,  and  are  about 
to  cut  the  cables,  no  doubt  intending  to  warp  the  ship  ashore; 
and  that,  too,  at  the  very  spot  where  they  once  had  the  Sea- 
Otter." 

"  Ay,  ay  —  let  them  go  on ;  we  '11  be  ready  for  them  in 
time,"  was  the  only  answer  I  received. 

I  never  knew  whether  to  ascribe  the  apathy  the  savages 
manifested  to  this  communication,  to  a  wish  that  the  fact 
might  be  known  to  the  people  below,  or  to  indifference. 
They  certainly  proceeded  in  their  movements  with  just  as 
much  coolness  as  if  they  had  the  ship  all  to  themselves. 
They  had  six  or  eight  canoes,  and  parties  of  them  began  to 
move  round  the  vessel,  with  precisely  the  same  confidence 
as  men  would  do  it  in  a  friendly  port.  What  most  surprised 
me  were  the  quiet  and  submission  to  orders  they  observed. 
At  length  the  axe  was  found  secreted  in  the  bows  of  the 
launch,  and  Marble  was  apprised  of  the  use  to  which  it  was 
immediately  applied,  by  the  heavy  blows  that  fell  upon  the 
cables. 

"Miles,"  said  the  chief-mate  —  "these  blows  go  to  my 
heart !  Are  the  blackguards  really  in  earnest  ?" 

"  The  larboard  bower  is  gone,  sir,  and  the  blows  you  now 
hear  are  on  the  starboard,  which  is  already  half  in  two  — 
that  finishes  it ;  the  ship  now  hangs  only  by  the  warp." 

"  Is  there  any  wind,  boy  ?" 

"  Not  a  breath  of  it  in  the  bay,  though  I  can  see  a  little 
ripple  on  the  water,  outside." 

"  Is  it  rising  or  falling  water,  Miles  ?" 

"  The  ebb  is  nearly  done  —  they  '11  never  be  able  to  get 
the  ship  up  on  the  shelving  rock  where  they  had  the  Sea- 
Otter,  until  the  water  rises  ten  or  twelve  feet." 

"  Thank  God  for  that !  I  was  afraid  they  might  get  her 
on  that  accursed  bed,  and  break  her  back  at  once." 

"  Is  it  of  any  importance  to  us,  Mr.  Marble  7  What  hope 
can  we  have  of  doing  anything  against  such  odds,  and  in 
our  circumstances  ?" 

"  The  odds  I  care  nothing  for,  boy.  My  lads  are  screwed 
up  so  tight,  they  Jd  lick  the  whole  North-West  Coast,  if  they 
could  only  get  on  deck  without  having  their  fashion-pieoeg 


204  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

stove  in.  The  circumstances,  I  allow,  must  count  for  a 
great  deal." 

"  The  ship  is  moving  fast  towards  the  island  —  I  see  no 
hope  for  us,  Mr.  Marble !" 

"  I  say,  Miles,  it  is  worth  some  risk  to  try  and  save  the 
craft  —  were  it  not  for  fear  of  you,  I  would  have  played  the 
rascals  a  trick  half  an  hour  since." 

"  Never  mind  me,  sir  —  it  was  my  fault  it  has  happened, 
and  I  ought  to  suffer  for  it  —  do  what  duty  and  discretion 
tell  you  is  best." 

I  waited  a  minute  after  this,  in  intense  expectation,  not 
knowing  what  was  to  follow,  when  a  report  made  me  fancy 
for  an  instant  some  attempt  was  making  to  blow  up  the  deck. 
The  wails  and  cries  that  succeeded,  however,  soon  let  me 
into  the  real  state  of  the  case.  A  volley  of  muskets  had  been 
fired  from  the  cabin-windows,  and  every  individual  in  two 
canoes  that  were  passing  at  the  time,  to  the  number  of 
eleven,  were  shot  down  like  bullocks.  Three  were  killed 
dead,  and  the  remainder  received  wounds  that  promised  to 
be  mortal.  My  life  would  have  been  the  instant,  sacrifice 
of  this  act,  had  it  not  been  for  the  stern  authority  of  Smudge, 
who  ordered  my  assailants  off*,  with  a  manner  and  tone  that 
produced  immediate  compliance.  It  was  clear  I  was  reserved 
for  some  peculiar  fate. 

Every  man  who  could,  rushed  into  the  remaining  canoes 
and  the  ship's  yawl,  in  order  to  pick  up  the  killed  and 
wounded,  as  soon  as  the  nature  of  the  calamity  was  known. 
I  watched  them  from  the  taffrail,  and  soon  ascertained  that 
Marble  was  doing  the  same  from  the  windows  below  me. 
But  the  savages  did  not  dare  venture  in  a  line  with  a  fire 
that  had  proved  so  fatal,  and  were  compelled  to  wait  until 
the  ship  had  moved  sufficiently  ahead  to  enable  them  to 
succour  their  friends,  without  exposing  their  own  lives.  As 
this  required  some  distance,  as  well  as  time,  the  ship  was 
not  only  left  without  a  canoe,  or  boat  of  any  sort,  in  the 
water,  but  with  only  half  her  assailants  on  board  of  her. 
Those  who  did  remain,  for  want  of  means  to  attack  any 
other  enemy,  vented  their  spite  on  the  ship,  expending  all 
their  strength  in  frantic  efforts  on  the  warp.  The  result 
was,  that  while  they  gave  great  way  to  the  vessel,  they 
finally  broke  the  line. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  205 

I  was  leaning  on  the  wheel,  with  Smudge  near  me,  when 
this  accident  occurred.  The  tide  was  still  running  ebb,  and 
with  some  strength ;  and  the  ship  was  just  entering  the  nar 
row  passage  between  the  island  and  the  point  that  formed 
one  termination  of  the  bay,  heading,  of  course,  toward  the 
tree  to  which  the  warp  had  been  secured.  It  was  an  im 
pulsive  feeling,  rather  than  any  reason,  that  made  me  give 
the  vessel  a  sheer  with  the  helm,  so  as  to  send  her  directly 
through  the  passage,  instead  of  letting  her  strike  the  rocks. 
I  had  no  eventual  hope  in  so  doing,  nor  any  other  motive 
than  the  strong  reluctance  I  felt  to  have  the  good  craft  hit 
the  bottom.  Luckily,  the  Dipper  was  in  the  canoes,  and  it 
was  not  an  easy  matter  to  follow  the  ship,  under  the  fire 
from  her  cabin-windows,  had  he  understood  the  case,  and  been 
disposed  to  do  so.  But,  like  all  the  rest  in  the  canoes,  he 
was  busy  with  his  wounded  friends,  who  were  all  carried  off 
towards  the  creek.  This  left  me  master  of  the  ship's  move 
ments  for  five  minutes,  and  by  that  time  she  had  drawn 
through  the  passage,  and  was  actually  shooting  out  into  the 
open  ocean. 

This  was  a  novel,  and  in  some  respects  an  embarrassing 
situation.  It  left  a  gleam  of  hope,  but  it  was  a  hope  without 
a  direction,  and  almost  without  an  object.  I  could  perceive 
that  none  of  the  savages  on  board  had  any  knowledge  of 
the  cause  of  our  movement,  unless  they  might  understand 
the  action  of  the  tide.  They  had  expected  the  ship  to  be 
run  ashore  at  the  tree ;  and  here  she  was  gliding  into  the 
ocean,  and  was  already  clear  of  the  passage.  The  effect  was 
to  produce  a  panic,  and  fully  one-half  of  those  who  had  re 
mained  in  the  ship,  jumped  overboard  and  began  to  swim 
for  the  island.  I  was  momentarily  in  hope  all  would  take 
this  course  ;  but  quite  five-and-twenty  remained,  more  from 
necessity  than  choice,  as  I  afterwards  discovered,  for  they 
did  not  know  how  to  swim.  Of  this  number  was  Smudge, 
who  probably  still  remained  to  secure  his  conquest. 

It  struck  me  the  moment  was  favourable,  and  I  went  to 
the  companion-way,  and  was  about  to  remove  its  fastenings, 
thinking  the  ship  might  be  recovered  during  the  prevalence 
of  the  panic.  But  a  severe  blow,  and  a  knife  gleaming  in 
the  hands  of  Smudge,  admonished  me  of  the  necessity  of 
greater  caution.  The  affair  was  not  yet  ended,  nor  was  my 
18 


206  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

captor  a  man  as  easily  disconcerted  as  I  had  incautiously 
supposed.  Unpromising  as  he  seemed,  this  fellow  had  a 
spirit  that  fitted  him  for  great  achievements,  and  which,  un 
der  other  circumstances,  might  have  made  him  a  hero.  He 
taught  me  the  useful  lesson  of  not  judging  of  men  merely  by 
their  exteriors. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

Court. — "  Brother  John  Bates,  is  not  that  the  morning  which  breaks 
yonder  ?" 

Bates. — "  I  think  it  be ;  but  we  have  no  great  cause  to  desire  the 
approach  of  day." 

Will. — "  We  see  yonder  the  beginning  of  the  day ;  but  I  think  we 

shall  never  see  the  end  of  it " 

Henry  V. 

THE  ship  did  not  lose  her  steerage- way.  As  soon  as  past 
the  point  of  the  island,  a  gentle  southerly  breeze  was  felt ; 
and,  acting  on  the  spars  and  hull,  it  enabled  me,  by  putting 
the  helm  a  little  up,  to  keep  her  head  off  shore,  and  thus 
increase  her  distance  from  the  bay.  The  set  of  the  tide  did 
more  for  her  than  the  wind,  it  is  true ;  but  the  two,  acting 
in  unison,  carried  her  away  from  the  coast  at  a  rate  that 
nearly  equalled  two  knots  in  the  hour.  This  was  slow 
moving,  certainly,  for  a  vessel  in  such  a  strait ;  but  it  would 
require  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  for  the  canoes  to  return 
from  the  creek,  and  make  the  circuit  of  the  island  by  the 
other  channel.  By  that  time  we  should  be  near  half  a  mile 
at  sea. 

Smudge,  beyond  a  question,  understood  that  he  was  in  a 
dilemma,  though  totally  ignorant  of  some  of  the  leading  dif 
ficulties  of  his  case.  It  was  plain  to  me  he  could  not  com 
prehend  why  the  ship  took  the  direction  of  the  offing,  for  he 
had  no  conception  of  the  power  of  the  rudder.  Our  tiller 
worked  below,  and  it  is  possible  this  circumstance  mystified 
him ;  more  small  vessels  in  that  day  managing  their  helms 
without  the  aid  of  the  wheel,  than  with  it.  At  length  the 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  207 

movement  of  the  vessel  became  too  palpable  to  admit  of  fur- 
ther  delay ;  and  this  savage  approached  me,  with  a  drawn 
knife,  and  a  manner  that  proved  natural  affection  had  not 
been  the  motive  of  his  previous  moderation.  After  flourish 
ing  his  weapon  fiercely  before  my  eyes,  and  pressing  it  most 
significantly,  once  or  twice,  against  my  breast,  he  made 
gigns  for  me  to  cause  the  ship  to  turn  round  and  re-enter  the 
port.  I  thought  my  last  moment  had  come,  but  naturally 
enough  pointed  to  the  spars,  giving  my  master  to  understand 
that  the  vessel  was  not  in  her  usual  trim.  I  believe  I  was 
understood  as  to  this  part  of  my  excuses,  it  being  too  appa 
rent  that  our  masts  and  yards  were  not  in  their  usual  places, 
for  the  fact  to  be  overlooked  even  by  a  savage.  Smudge, 
however,  saw  that  several  of  the  sails  were  bent,  and  he 
pointed  to  those,  growling  out  his  threats,  should  I  refuse  to 
set  them.  The  spanker,  in  particular,  being  near  him,  he 
took  hold  of  it,  shook  it,  and  ordered  me  to  loosen  it  forth 
with. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say,  I  obeyed  this  order  with 
secret  joy.  Casting  loose  the  brails,  I  put  the  out-hauler  in 
the  hands  of  a  dozen  of  the  savages,  and  set  the  example  of 
pulling.  In  a  minute  we  had  this  sail  spread,  with  the  sheet 
a  little  eased  off.  I  then  led  a  party  forward,  and  got  the 
fore  and  main  stay-sails  on  the  ship.  To  these  were  added 
the  mizen  stay-sail,  the  only  other  piece  of  canvass  we  could 
show,  until  the  top-masts  were  fidded.  The  effect  of  these 
four  sails,  however,  was  to  add  at  least  another  knot  to  the 
way  of  the  ship,  and  to  carry  her  out  sooner  to  a  point  where 
she  felt  the  full  force  of  the  ligfit  breeze  that  was  blowing 
from  the  south-east.  By  the  time  the  four  sails  were  set,  we 
were  fully  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  island,  every  instant 
getting  more  fairly  into  the  true  currents  of  the  air. 

Smudge  watched  me  with  the  eyes  of  a  hawk.  As  I  had 
obeyed  his  own  orders  in  making  sail,  he  could  not  com 
plain  of  that ;  but  the  result  evidently  disappointed  him.  He 
saw  we  were  still  moving  in  the  wrong  direction,  and,  as 
yet,  not  a  canoe  was  visible.  As  for  these  last,  now  the 
vessel  had  way  on  her,  I  was  not  without  hopes  of  being 
able  to  keep  them  exposed  to  the  fire  from  the  cabin-win 
dows,  and,  finally,  of  getting  rid  of  them  by  drawing  off  the 
land  to  a  distance  they  would  not  be  likely  to  follow.  The 


208  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

Dipper,  however,  I  was  aware,  was  a  bold  fellow — knew 
something  of  vessels — and  I  was  determined  to  give  a  hint 
to  Marble  to  pick  him  off,  should  he  come  within  range  of 
his  muskets. 

In  the  meantime  the  alarm  and  impatience  of  Smudge 
and  his  companions,  very  sensibly  increased.  Five  minutes 
were  an  age,  in  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were 
placed,  and  I  saw  that  it  would  soon  be  necessary  to  adopt 
some  new  expedient,  or  I  might  expect  to  be  sacrificed  to  the 
resentment  of  these  savages.  Necessity  sharpens  the  wits, 
and  I  hit  upon  a  scheme  which  was  not  entirely  without  the 
merit  of  ingenuity.  As  it  was,  I  suppose  I  owed  my  life  to 
the  consciousness  of  the  savages,  that  they  could  do  nothing 
without  me. 

Smudge,  with  three  or  four  of  the  fiercest  of  his  compan 
ions,  had  begun  again  to  menace  me  with  the  knife,  making 
signs,  at  the  same  time,  for  me  to  turn  the  ship's  head  to 
wards  the  land.  I  asked  for  a  little  room,  and  then  describ 
ing  a  long  circle  on  the  deck,  pointing  to  the  four  sails  we 
had  set,  and  this  in  a  way  to  tell  them  that  under  the  can 
vass  we  carried,  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  a  great  dis 
tance  in  order  to  turn  round.  When  I  had  succeeded  in 
communicating  this  idea,  I  forthwith  set  about  giving  them 
to  understand  that  by  getting  up  the  top-masts,  and  making 
more  sail,  we  might  return  immediately.  The  savages 
understood  me,  and  the  explanation  appearing  reasonable 
to  them,  they  went  aside  and  consulted  together.  As  time 
pressed,  it  was  not  long  before  Smudge  came  to  me  with 
signs  to  show  him  and  his  party  how  to  get  the  remainder 
of  the  sails  set.  Of  course,  I  was  not  backward  in  giving 
the  desired  information. 

In  a  few  minutes,  I  had  a  string  of  the  savages  hold  of 
the  mast-rope,  forward,  a  luff-tackle  being  applied.  As 
everything  was  ready  aloft,  all  we  had  to  do  was  to  pull, 
until,  judging  by  the  eye,  I  thought  the  spar  was  high 
enough,  when  I  ran  up  the  rigging  and  clapped  in  the  fid. 
Having  the  top-mast  out  of  the  way,  without  touching  any 
of  its  rigging,  I  went  down  on  the  fore-yard,  and  loosened 
the  sail.  This  appeared  so  much  like  business,  that  the 
savages  gave  sundry  exclamations  of  delight ;  and,  by  the 
time  I  got  on  deck,  they  were  all  ready  to  applaud  me  as  a 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  209 

good  fellow.  Even  Smudge  was  completely  mystified ;  and 
when  I  set  the  others  at  work  at  the  jeer-fall  to  sway  up  the 
fore-yard,  he  was  as  active  as  any  of  them.  We  soon  had 
the  yard  in  its  place,  and  I  went  aloft  to  secure  it,  touching 
the  braces  first  so  as  to  fill  the  sail. 

The  reader  may  rest  assured  I  did  not  hurry  myself,  now 
I  had  things  in  so  fair  a  way.  I  could  perceive  that  my 
power  and  importance  increased  with  every  foot  we  went 
from  the  land  ;  and  the  ship  steering  herself  under  such  can 
vass,  the  wheel  being  a  trifle  up,  there  was  no  occasion  for 
extraordinary  exertion  on  my  part.  I  determined  now  to 
stay  aloft  as  long  as  possible.  The  yard  was  soon  secured, 
and  then  I  went  up  into  the  top,  where  I  began  to  set  up  the 
weather-rigging.  Of  course,  nothing  was  very  thoroughly 
done,  though  sufficiently  so  for  the  weather  we  had. 

From  the  top  I  had  a  good  view  of  the  offing,  and  of  the 
coast  for  leagues.  We  were  now  quite  a  mile  at  sea,  and, 
though  the  tide  was  no  longer  of  any  use  to  us,  we  were 
drawing  through  the  water  quite  at  the  rate  of  two  knots. 
I  thought  that  the  flood  had  made,  and  that  it  took  us  a  lit 
tle  on  our  lee-bow,  hawsing  us  up  to  windward.  Just  as  I 
had  got  the  last  lanyard  fastened,  the  canoes  began  to  ap 
pear,  coming  round  the  island  by  the  farther  passage,  and 
promising  to  overtake  us  in  the  course  of  the  next  twenty 
minutes.  The  crisis  demanded  decision,  and  I  determined 
to  get  the  jib  on  the  ship.  Accordingly,  I  was  soon  on  deck. 

Having  so  much  the  confidence  of  the  savages,  who  now 
fancied  their  return  depended  on  me,  I  soon  had  them  at 
work,  and  we  had  the  stay  set  up  in  two  or  three  minutes. 
I  then  ran  out  and  cast  off  the  gaskets,  when  my  boys 
began  to  hoist  at  a  signal  from  me.  I  have  seldom  been 
so  happy  as  when  I  saw  that  large  sheet  of  canvass  open  to 
the  air.  The  sheet  was  hauled  in  and  belayed  as  fast  as 
possible,  and  then  it  struck  me  I  should  not  have  time  to  do 
any  more  before  the  canoes  would  overtake  us.  It  was  my 
wish  to  communicate  with  Marble.  While  passing  aft,  to 
effect  this  object,  I  paused  a  moment  to  examine  the  move 
ment  of  the  canoes  ;  old  Smudge,  the  whole  time,  expressing 
his  impatience  that  the  ship  did  not  turn  round.  I  make  no 
doubt  I  should  have  been  murdered  a  dozen  times,  had  I 
lives  enough,  were  it  not  that  the  savages  felt  how  depend- 
18* 


210  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

ent  they  were  on  me,  for  the  government  of  the  vessel.  J 
began  to  see  my  importance,  and  grew  bold  in  proportion. 

As  for  the  canoes,  I  took  a  look  at  them  through  a  glass. 
They  were  about  half-a-mile  distant ;  had  ceased  paddling, 
and  were  lying  close  together,  seemingly  in  consultation.  ] 
fancied  the  appearance  of  the  ship,  under  canvass,  had 
alarmed  them,  and  that  they  began  to  think  we  had  regained 
the  vessel,  and  were  getting  her  in  sailing  condition  again, 
and  that  it  might  not  be  prudent  to  come  too  near.  Could 
I  confirm  this  impression,  a  great  point  would  be  gained. 
Under  the  pretence  of  making  more  sail,  in  order  to  get  the 
ship's  head  round,  a  difficulty  I  had  to  explain  to  Smudge 
by  means  of  signs  some  six  or  eight  times,  I  placed  the 
savages  at  the  main-top-mast  mast-rope,  Kind  told  them  to 
drag.  This  was  a  task  likely  to  keep  them  occupied,  and 
what  was  more,  it  kept  them  all  looking  forward,  leaving 
me  affecting  to  be  busied  aft.  I  had  given  Smudge  a  segar 
too,  to  put  him  in  good  humour,  and  I  had  also  taken  the 
liberty  to  light  one  for  myself. 

Our  guns  had  all  been  primed,  levelled,  and  had  their 
tompions  taken  out  the  night  before,  in  readiness  to  repel 
any  assault  that  might  be  made.  I  had  only  to  remove  the 
apron  from  the  after-gun,  and  it  was  ready  to  be  discharged. 
Going  to  the  wheel,  I  put  the  helm  hard  up,  until  our  broad 
side  bore  on  the  canoes.  Then  glancing  along  my  gun, 
until  I  saw  it  had  a  tolerable  range,  I  clapped  the  segar  to 
the  priming,  springing  back  to  the  wheel,  and  putting  the 
helm  down.  The  explosion  produced  a  general  yell  among 
the  savages,  several  of  whom  actually  leaped  into  the  chains 
ready  to  go  overboard,  while  Smudge  rushed  towards  me, 
fiercely  brandishing  his  knife.  I  thought  my  time  had 
come !  but,  perceiving  that  the  ship  was  luffing  fast,  I  mo 
tioned  eagerly  forward,  to  draw  the  attention  of  my  assailant 
in  that  quarter.  The  vessel  was  coming-to,  and  Smudge 
was  easily  induced  to  believe  it  was  the  commencement  of 
turning  round.  The  breathing  time  allowed  me  to  mystify 
him  with  a  few  more  signs ;  after  which,  he  rejoined  his  peo 
ple,  showed  them  exultingly  the  ship  still  luffing,  and  I  make 
no  doubt,  he  thought  himself,  and  induced  the  rest  to  think, 
that  the  gun  had  a  material  agency  in  producing  all  these 
apparent  changes.  As  for  the  canoes,  the  grape  had  whis- 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

tied  so  near  them,  that  they  began  to  paddle  back,  doubtless 
under  the  impression,  that  we  were  again  masters  of  the 
ship,  and  had  sent  them  this  hint  to  keep  aloof. 

Thus  far  I  had  succeeded  beyond  my  most  sanguine  ex 
pectations  ;  and  I  began  to  entertain  lively  hopes  of  not  only 
saving  my  life,  but  of  recovering  the  command  of  the  ves 
sel.  Could  I  manage  to  get  her  out  of  sight  of  land,  my 
services  would  be  so  indispensable,  as  almost  to  insure  suc 
cess.  The  coast  was  very  low,  and  a  run  of  six  or  eight 
hours  would  do  this,  provided  the  vessel's  head  could  be 
kept  in  the  right  direction.  The  wind,  moreover,  was  fresh 
ening,  and  I  judged  that  the  Crisis  had  already  four  knots 
way  on  her.  Less  than  twenty  miles  would  put  all  the 
visible  coast  under  water.  But,  it  was  time  to  say  some 
thing  to  Marble.  With  a  view  to  lull  distrust,  I  called 
Smudge  to  the  companion-way,  in  order  that  he  might  hear 
vhat  passed,  though  I  felt  satisfied,  now  that  the  Dipper  was 
out  of  the  ship,  not  a  soul  remained  among  the  savages,  who 
could  understand  a  syllable  of  English,  or  knew  anything 
of  vessels.  The  first  call  brought  the  mate  to  the  door. 
"Well,  Miles;  what  is  it?"— he  asked— "  what  meant  the 
gun,  and  who  fired  it?" 

"  All  right,  Mr.  Marble.  I  fired  the  gun  to  keep  off  the 
canoes,  and  it  has  had  the  effect  I  wished." 

"  Yes  ;  my  head  was  out  of  the  cabin-window  at  the  time, 
for  I  believed  the  ship  was  waring,  and  thought  you  had 
given  up,  and  were  going1  back  into  port.  I  saw  the  round- 
shot  strike  within  twenty  fathoms  of  the  canoes,  and  as  for 
the  grape,  some  of  it  flew  beyond  them.  Why,  we  are  more 
than  half  a  league  from  the  land,  boy  ! — Will  Smudge  stand 
that  much  longer?" 

I  then  told  Marble  precisely  how  we  were  situated  on 
deck,  the  sail  we  were  under,  the  number  of  savages  we  had 
on  board,  and  the  notion  the  savages  entertained  on  the 
subject  of  turning  the  ship  round.  It  is  not  easy  to  say 
which  listened  with  the  most  attention,  Marble,  or  Smudge. 
The  latter  made  frequent  gestures  for  me  to  turn  the  ship 
towards  the  coast,  for  by  this  time  she  had  the  wind  abeam 
again,  and  was  once  more  running  in  a  straight  line.  It 
was  necessary,  on  more  accounts  than  one,  to  adopt  some 
immediate  remedy  for  the  danger  that  began  to  press  on  me 
anew.  Not  only  must  Smudge  and  his  associates  be  paci- 


212  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

fied,  but,  as  the  ship  got  into  the  offing,  she  began  to  feel  the 
ground-swell,  and  her  spars,  aloft,  were  anything  but  secure. 
The  main-top-mast  was  about  half-up,  and  it  was  beginning 
to  surge  and  move  in  the  cap,  in  a  way  I  did  not  like.  It 
is  true,  there  was  not  much  danger  yet ;  but  the  wind  was 
rising,  and  what  was  to  be  done,  ought  to  be  done  at  once. 
I  was  not  sorry,  however,  to  perceive  that  five  or  six  of  the 
savages,  Smudge  among  the  number,  began  to  betray  signs 
of  sea-sickness.  I  would  have  given  Clawbonny,  at  the 
moment,  to  have  had  all  the  rascals  in  rough  water ! 

I  now  endeavoured  to  make  Smudge  understand  the  ne 
cessity  of  my  having  assistance  from  below,  both  to  assist 
in  turning  the  vessel,  and  in  getting  the  yards  and  masts 
into  their  places.  The  old  fellow  shook  his  head,  and  looked 
grave  at  this.  I  saw  he  was  not  sick  enough  yet,  to  be 
indifferent  about  his  life.  After  a  time,  however,  he  pro 
nounced  the  names  of  Neb  and  Yo,  the  blacks  having  attract 
ed  the  attention  of  the  savages,  the  last  being  the  cook.  I 
understood  him,  he  would  suffer  these  two  to  come  to  my 
assistance,  provided  it  could  be  done  without  endangering 
his  own  ascendency.  Three  unarmed  men  could  hardly  be 
dangerous  to  twenty-five  who  were  armed ;  and  then  I  sus 
pected  that  he  fancied  the  negroes  would  prove  allies  to  him 
self,  in  the  event  of  a  struggle,  rather  than  foes.  As  for 
Neb,  he  made  a  fatal  mistake ;  nor  was  he  much  nearer  the 
truth  in  regard  to  Joe — or  Yo,  as  he  called  him — the  cook 
feeling  quite  as  much  for  the  honour  of  the  American  flag, 
as  the  fairest-skinned  seaman  in  the  country.  It  is  gene 
rally  found,  that  the  loyalty  of  the  negroes  is  of  proof. 

I  found  means  to  make  Smudge  understand  the  manner 
in  which  these  two  blacks  could  be  got  on  deck,  without  let 
ting  up  the  rest.  As  soon  as  he  fairly  comprehended  the 
means  to  be  used,  he  cheerfully  acquiesced,  and  I  made  the 
necessary  communication  to  Marble.  A  rope  was  sent 
down,  over  the  stern-boat,  to  the  cabin-windows,  and  Neb 
took  a  turn  round  his  body ;  when  he  was  hauled  up  to  the 
gunwale  of  the  boat,  into  which  he  was  dragged  by  the  as 
sistance  of  the  savages.  The  same  process  was  used  with 
Joe.  Before  the  negroes  were  permitted  to  go  aloft,  how 
ever,  Smudge  made  them  a  brief  oration,  in  which  oracular 
sentences  were  blended  with  significant  gestures,  and  indi- 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  213 

cations  of  what  they  were  to  expect,  in  the  event  of  bad 
behaviour.  After  this,  I  sent  the  blacks  into  the  main-top, 
and  glad  enough  I  thought  they  were  both  to  get  there. 

Thus  reinforced,  we  had  the  main-top-mast  fidded  in  a 
very  few  minutes.  Neb  was  then  directed  to  set  up  the 
rigging,  and  to  clear  away  the  yard,  so  it  might  be  got 
into  its  place.  In  a  word,  an  hour  passed  in  active  exer 
tions,  at  the  end  of  which,  we  had  everything  rove,  bent, 
and  in  its  place,  on  the  main-mast,  from  the  top-mast-head 
to  the  deck.  The  top-gallant-mast  was  lying  fore  and  aft 
in  the  waist,  and  could  not  then  be  touched ;  nor  was  it  ne 
cessary.  I  ordered  the  men  to  loosen  both  sails,  and  to 
overhaul  down  their  rigging.  In  the  eyes  of  Smudge,  this 
looked  highly  promising ;  and  the  savages  gave  a  yell  of 
delight  when  they  saw  the  top-sail  fairly  filled  and  drawing. 
I  added  the  main-sail  to  the  pressure,  and  then  the  ship 
began  to  walk  off  the  coast,  at  a  rate  that  promised  all  I 
hoped  for.  It  was  now  necessary  for  me  to  stick  by  the 
wheel,  of  the  uses  of  which  Smudge  began  to  obtain  some 
notions.  At  this  time,  the  vessel  was  more  than  two  leagues 
from  the  island,  and  objects  began  to  look  dim  along  the 
coast.  As  for  the  canoes,  they  could  no  longer  be  seen, 
and  chasing  us  any  farther  was  quite  out  of  the  question.  I 
felt  that  the  crisis  was  approaching. 

Smudge  and  his  companions  now  became  more  and  more 
earnest  on  the  subject  of  turning  the  ship  round.  The  indis 
tinctness  of  the  land  began  seriously  to  alarm  them,  and 
sea-sickness  had  actually  placed  four  of  their  number  flat 
on  the  deck.  I  could  see  that  the  old  fellow  himself  was  a 
good  deal  affected,  though  his  spirit,  and  the  risks  he  ran, 
kept  him  in  motion,  and  vigilantly  on  the  watch.  It  was 
necessary  to  seem  to  do  something  ;  and  I  sent  the  negroes 
up  into  the  fore-top,  to  get  the  top-sail-yard  in  its  place,  and 
the  sail  set.  This  occupied  another  hour,  before  we  were 
entirely  through,  when  the  land  was  getting  nearly  awash. 
As  soon  as  the  mizen-top-sail  was  set,  I  braced  sharp  up, 
and  brought  the  ship  close  upon  the  wind.  This  caused  the 
Indians  to  wilt  down  like  flowers  under  a  burning  sun,  just 
as  I  expected ;  there  being,  by  this  time,  a  seven-knot 
breeze,  and  a  smart  head-sea  on.  Old  Smudge  felt  that  his 
forces  were  fast  deserting  him,  and  he  now  came  to  me,  in 


214  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

a  manner  that  would  not  be  denied,  and  I  felt  the  necessity 
of  doing  something  to  appease  him.  I  got  the  savages  sta 
tioned  as  well  as  I  could,  hauled  up  the  main-sail,  and  put 
the  ship  in  stays.  We  tacked  better  than  I  could  have 
believed  possible,  and  when  my  wild  captors  saw  that  we 
were  actually  moving  in  the  direction  of  the  land,  again, 
their  delight  was  infinite.  Their  leader  was  ready  to  hug 
me;  but  I  avoided  this  pleasure  in  the  best  manner  I  could. 
As  for  the  consequences,  I  had  no  apprehensions,  knowing 
we  were  too  far  off  to  have  any  reason. to  dread  the  canoes, 
and  being  certain  it  was  easy  enough  to  avoid  them  in  such 
a  breeze. 

Smudge  and  his  companions  were  less  on  the  alert,  as 
soon  as  they  perceived  the  ship  was  going  in  the  proper 
direction.  They  probably  believed  the  danger  in  a  measure 
over,  and  they  began  to  yield  a  little  to  their  physical  suf 
ferings.  I  called  Neb  to  the  wheel,  and  leaning  over  the 
taffrail,  I  succeeded  in  getting  Marble  to  a  cabin-window, 
without  alarming  Smudge.  I  then  told  the  mate  to  get  all 
his  forces  in  the  forecastle,  having  observed  that  the  Indians 
avoided  that  part  of  the  vessel,  on  account  of  the  heavy 
plunges  she  occasionally  made,  and  possibly  because  they 
fancied  our  people  were  all  aft.  As  soon  as  the  plan  was 
understood,  I  strolled  forward,  looking  up  at  the  sails,  and 
touching  a  rope,  here  and  there,  like  one  bent  on  his  ordi 
nary  duty.  The  savage  stationed  at  the  fore-scuttle  was  as 
sick  as  a  dog,  and  with  streaming  eyes,  he  was  paying  the 
landsmen's  tribute  to  the  sea.  The  hatch  was  very  strong, 
and  it  was  secured  simply  by  its  hasp  and  a  bit  of  iron 
thrust  through  it.  I  had  only  to  slip  rny  hand  down,  remove 
the  iron,  throw  open  the  hatch,  when  the  ship's  company 
Streamed  up  on  deck,  Marble  leading. 

It  was  not  a  moment  for  explanations.  I  saw,  at  a  glance, 
that  the  mate  and  his  followers  regarded  the  situation  of  the 
ship  very  differently  from  what  I  did  myself.  I  had  now 
been  hours  with  the  savages,  had  attained  a  little  of  their 
confidence,  and  knew  how  dependent  they  were  on  myself 
for  their  final  safety ;  all  of  which,  in  a  small  degree,  dis 
posed  me  to  treat  them  with  some  of  the  lenity  I  fancied  I 
had  received  from  them,  in  my  own  person.  But,  Marble 
and  the  crew  had  been  chafing  below,  like  caged  lions,  tho 


AFLOAT     AKD     ASHORE,  215 

whole  time,  and,  as  I  aftei  wards  learned,  had  actually  taken 
an  unanimous  vote  to  blow  themselves  up,  before  they 
would  permit  the  Indians  to  retain  the  control  of  the  vessel. 
Then  poor  Captain  Williams  was  much  beloved  forward, 
and  his  death  remained  to  be  avenged.  I  would  have  said 
a  word  in  favour  of  my  captors,  but  the  first  glance  I  got 
at  the  flushed  face  of  the  mate,  told  me  it  would  be  useless. 
I  turned,  therefore,  to  the  sick  savage  who  had  been  left  as 
a  sentinel  over  the  fore-scuttle,  to  prevent  his  interference. 
This  man  was  armed  with  the  pistols  that  had  been  taken 
from  me,  and  he  showed  a  disposition  to  use  them.  I  was 
too  quick  in  my  motions,  however,  falling  upon  him  so  soon 
as  to  prevent  one  who  was  not  expert  with  the  weapons  from 
using  them.  We  clenched,  and  fell  on  the  deck  together, 
the  Indian  letting  the  pistols  fall  to  meet  my  grasp. 

As  this  occurred,  I  heard  the  cheers  of  the  seamen  ;  and 
Marble,  shouting  out  to  "  revenge  Captain  Williams,"  gave 
the  order  to  charge.  I  soon  had  my  own  fellow  perfectly 
at  my  mercy,  and  got  him  so  near  the  end  of  the  jib  down- 
haul,  as  to  secure  him  with  a  turn  or  two  of  that  rope.  The 
man  made  little  resistance,  after  the  first  onset ;  and,  catching 
up  the  pistols,  I  left  him,  to  join  in  what  was  doing  aft.  As 
I  lay  on  the  deck,  I  heard  several  plunges  into  the  water, 
and  then  half-a-dozen  of  most  cruelly  crushing  blows  suc 
ceeded.  Not  a  shot  was  fired  by  either  party,  though  some 
of  our  people,  who  had  carried  all  their  arms  below  the 
night  the  ship  was  seized,  used  their  pikes  with  savage  free 
dom.  By  the  time  I  got  as  far  aft  as  the  main-mast,  the 
vessel  was  our  own.  Nearly  half  the  Indians  had  thrown 
themselves  into  the  sea;  the  remaining  dozen  had  either 
been  knocked  in  the  head  like  beeves,  or  were  stuck,  like 
so  many  porkers.  The  dead  bodies  followed  the  living 
into  the  sea.  Old  Smudge  alone  remained,  at  the  moment 
of  which  I  have  spoken. 

The  leader  of  the  savages  was  examining  the  movements 
of  Neb,  at  the  moment  the  shout  was  raised ;  and  the  black, 
abandoning  the  wheel,  threw  his  arms  round  those  of  the 
old  man,  holding  him  like  a  vice.  In  this  situation  he  was 
found  by  Marble  and  myself,  who  approached  at  the  same 
instant,  one  on  each  side  of  the  quarter-deck. 


216  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  Overboard  with  the  blackguard !"  called  out  the  excited 
mate  ;  "  overboard  with  him,  Neb,  like  a  trooper's  horse  !" 

"  Hold — "  I  interrupted,  "  spare  the  old  wretch,  Mr.  Mar- 
ble  ; — he  spared  me." 

A  request  from  me  would,  at  any  moment,  outweigh  an 
order  from  the  captain,  himself,  so  far  as  the  black  was 
concerned,  else  Smudge  would  certainly  have  gone  into  the 
ocean,  like  a  bundle  of  straw.  Marble  had  in  him  a  good 
deal  of  the  indifference  to  bodily  suffering  that  is  generated 
by  habit,  and,  aroused,  he  was  a  dangerous,  and  sometimes 
a  hard  man ;  but,  in  the  main,  he  was  not  cruel ;  and  then 
he  was  always  manly.  In  the  short  struggle  which  he  had 
passed,  he  had  actually  dropped  his  pike,  to  knock  an 
Indian  down  with  his  fist ;  bundling  the  fellow  through  a 
port  without  ceremony,  ere  he  had  time  to  help  himself. 
But  he  disdained  striking  Smudge,  with  such  odds  against 
him  ;  and  he  went  to  the  helm,  himself,  bidding  Neb  secure 
the  prisoner.  Glad  of  this  little  relief  to  a  scene  so  horrible, 
I  ran  forward,  intending  to  bring  my  own  prisoner  aft,  and 
to  have  the  two  confined  together,  below.  But  I  was  too  late. 
One  of  the  Philadelphians  had  just  got  the  poor  wretch's 
head  and  shoulders  through  the  bow-port,  and  I  was  barely 
in  time  to  see  his  feet  disappear. 

Not  a  cheer  was  given  for  our  success.  When  all  was 
over,  the  men  stood  gazing  at  each  other,  stern,  frowning, 
and  yet  with  the  aspects  of  those  who  felt  they  had  been,  in 
a  manner,  disgraced  by  the  circumstances  which  led  them 
to  the  necessity  of  thus  regaining  the  command  of  their  own 
vessel.  As  for  myself,  I  ran  and  sprang  upon  the  taffrail, 
to  look  into  the  ship's  wake.  A  painful  sight  met  me,  there! 
During  the  minute  or  two  passed  in  the  brief  struggle,  the 
Crisis  had  gone  steadily  ahead,  like  the  earth  moving  in  its 
orbit,  indifferent  to  the  struggles  of  the  nations  that  are  con 
tending  on  its  bosom.  I  could  see  heads  and  arms  tossing 
in  our  track  for  a  hundred  fathoms,  those  who  could  not 
swim  struggling  to  the  last  to  preserve  their  existence. 
Marble,  Smudge  and  Neb,  were  all  looking  in  the  same 
direction,  at  that  instant.  Under  an  impulse  I  could  not 
control,  I  ventured  to  suggest  that  we  might  yet  tack  and 
save  several  of  the  wretches. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  217 

M  Let  them  drown,  and  be  d — d !"  was  the  chief-mate's 
sententious  answer. 

"  No — no — Masser  Mile,"  Neb  ventured  to  add,  with  a 
remonstrating  shake  of  the  head — "  dat  will  nebber  do — no 
good  ebber  come  of  Injin.  If  you  don't  drown  him,  he  sar- 
tain  drown  you." 

I  saw  it  was  idle  to  remonstrate ;  and  by  this  time  one 
dark  spot,  after  another,  began  to  disappear,  as  the  victims 
sank  in  the  ocean.  As  for  Smudge,  his  eye  was  riveted  on 
the  struggling  forms  of  his  followers,  in  a  manner  to  show 
that  traces  of  human  feeling  are  to  be  found,  in  some  aspect 
or  other,  in  every  condition  of  life.  I  thought  I  could  detect 
workings  of  the  countenance  of  this  being,  indurated  as  his 
heart  had  become  by  a  long  life  of  savage  ferocity,  which 
denoted  how  keenly  he  felt  the  sudden  destruction  that  had 
alighted  on  his  tribe.  He  might  have  had  sons  and  grand 
sons  among  those  struggling  wretches,  on  whom  he  was 
now  gazing  for  the  last  time.  If  so,  his  self-command  was 
almost  miraculous ;  for,  while  I  could  see  that  he  felt,  and 
felt  intensely,  not  a  sign  of  weakness  escaped  him.  As  the 
last  head  sunk  from  view,  I  could  see  him  shudder ;  a  sup 
pressed  groan  escaped  him ;  then  he  turned  his  face  towards 
the  bulwarks,  and  stood  immovable  as  one  of  the  pines  of 
his  own  forests,  for  a  long  time.  I  asked  Marble's  permis 
sion  to  release  the  old  man's  arms,  and  the  mate  granted  it, 
though  not  without  growling  a  few  curses  on  him,  and  on 
all  who  had  been  concerned  in  the  late  occurrences  on  board 
the  ship. 

There  was  too  much  duty  to  be  done,  to  render  all  secure, 
to  suffer  us  to  waste  much  time  in  mere  sympathy.  All  the 
top-mast  rigging,  backstays,  &c.,  had  to  be  set  up  afresh, 
and  gangs  were  sent  about  this  duty,  forward  and  aft.  The 
blood  was  washed  from  the  decks,  and  a  portion  of  the  crew 
got  along  the  top-gallant-masts,  and  pointed  them.  The 
topsails  were  all  close-reefed,  the  courses  hauled  up,  the 
spanker  and  jib  taken  in,  and  the  ship  hove-to.  It  wanted 
but  two  hours  of  sunset  when  Mr.  Marble  had  got  things  to 
his  mind.  We  had  crossed  royal-yards,  and  had  everything 
set  that  would  draw,  from  the  trucks  down.  The  launch 
was  in  the  water  towing  astern ;  the  ship  was  then  about  a 
mile  from  the  southern  passage  into  the  bay,  towards  which 
19 


218  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

she  was  steering  with  the  wind  very  much  as  it  had  been 
since  an  hour  after  sunrise,  though  slightly  falling.  Out 
guns  were  loose,  and  the  crew  was  at  quarters.  Even  I  did 
not  know  what  the  new  captain  intended  to  do,  for  he  had 
given  his  orders  in  the  manner  of  one  whose  mind  was  too 
immovably  made  up,  to  admit  of  consultation.  The  lar 
board  battery  was  manned,  and  orders  had  been  given  to 
see  the  guns  on  that  side  levelled  and  ready  for  firing.  As 
the  ship  brushed  past  the  island,  in  entering  the  bay,  the 
whole  of  this  broadside  was  delivered  in  among  its  bushes 
and  trees.  We  heard  a  few  yells,  in  reply,  that  satisfied  us 
the  grape  had  told,  and  that  Marble  had  not  miscalculated 
the  position  of  some  of  his  enemies,  at  least. 

When  the  ship  entered  the  little  bay,  it  was  with  a  mo 
derate  and  steady  movement,  the  breeze  being  greatly  broken 
by  the  forests.  The  main-yard  was  thrown  aback,  and  I 
was  ordered  into  the  launch,  with  its  crew  armed.  A  swivel 
was  in  the  bows  of  the  boat,  and  I  pulled  into  the  creek,  in 
order  to  ascertain  if  there  were  any  signs  of  the  savages.  In 
entering  the  creek,  the  swivel  was  discharged,  according  to 
orders,  and  we  soon  detected  proofs  that  we  disturbed  a 
bivouac.  I  now  kept  loading  ana  firing  this  little  piece  into 
the  bushes,  supporting  it  with  occasional  volleys  of  musketry, 
until  pretty  well  satisfied  that  we  had  swept  the  shore  effec 
tually.  At  the  bivouac,  I  found  the  canoes,  and  our  own 
yawl,  and  what  was  some  little  revenge  for  what  had  hap 
pened,  I  also  found  a  pile  of  no  less  than  six  hundred  skins, 
which  had  doubtless  been  brought  to  trade  with  us,  if  neces 
sary,  in  order  to  blind  our  eyes  until  the  favourable  moment 
for  the  execution  of  the  conspiracy  should  offer.  I  made  no 
scruple  about  confiscating  these  skins,  which  were  taken  on 
board  the  ship. 

I  next  went  to  the  island,  on  which  I  found  one  man 
dying  with  a  grape-shot  wound,  and  evidence  that  a  consi 
derable  party  had  left  it,  as  soon  as  they  felt  our  fire.  This 
party  had  probably  gone  outside  the  island,  but  it  was  get 
ting  too  late  to  follow.  On  my  return,  I  met  the  ship  com 
ing  out,  Captain  Marble  being  determined  not  to  trust  her 
inside  another  night.  The  wind  was  getting  light,  and,  the 
tides  running  fiercely  in  that  high  latitude,  we  were  glad  to 
make  an  offintj  again .  while  there  was  still  day.  The  success 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  219 

with  the  skins  greatly  mollified  the  new  captain,  who  de 
clared  to  me  that,  after  he  had  hanged  Smudge  in  sight  of 
his  own  shores,  he  should  "  feel  something  like  himself 
again." 

We  passed  the  night  under  our  top-sails,  standing  off  and 
on,  with  the  wind  steady,  but  light,  at  the  southward.  Next 
morning,  the  duty  of  the  ship  went  on  as  usual,  until  the 
men  had  breakfasted,  when  we  stood  again  into  the  bay. 
This  time,  we  hove-to  so  as  to  get  one  of  the  buoys,  when 
we  dropped  the  stream,  leaving  the  top-sails  set.  We  then 
hove  up  the  anchor,  securing  the  range  of  cable  that  was 
bent  to  it.  Both  of  the  anchors,  and  their  ranges  of  cable, 
were  thus  recovered ;  the  ends  of  the  last  being  entered  at 
the  hawse-holes,  and  the  pieces  spliced.  This  work  may 
have  occupied  us  four  hours  ;  after  which,  the  stream-anchor 
was  hove  up,  catted  and  fished.  Marble  then  ordered  a  whip 
rove  at  the  fore-yard-arm. 

I  was  on  the  quarter-deck  when  this  command  was  sud 
denly  given.  I  wished  to  remonstrate,  for  I  had  some  tole 
rably  accurate  notions  of  legality,  and  the  rights  of  persons. 
Still,  I  did  not  like  to  say  anything ;  for  Captain  Marble's 
eye  and  manner  were  not  the  least  in  the  trifling  mood,  at 
that  instant.  The  whip  was  soon  rove,  and  the  men  stood 
looking  aft,  in  silent  expectation. 

"  Take  that  murdering  blackguard  forward,  fasten  his 
arms  behind  his  back,  place  him  on  the  third  gun,  and  wait 
for  orders,"  added  our  new  captain,  sternly. 

No  one  dared  hesitate  about  obeying  these  orders,  though 
I  could  see  that  one  or  two  of  the  lads  disliked  the  business. 

"  Surely,"  I  ventured  to  say,  in  a  low  voice,  "  you  are 
not  in  earnest,  Mr.  Marble !" 

"  Captain  Marble,  if  you  please,  Mr.  Wallingford.  I  am 
now  master  of  this  vessel,  and  you  are  her  chief-mate.  I 
intend  to  hang  your  friend  Smudge,  as  an  example  to  the 
rest  of  the  coast.  These  woods  are  full  of  eyes  at  this  mo 
ment  ;  and  the  sight  they  '11  presently  see,  will  do  more  good 
than  forty  missionaries,  and  threescore  and  ten  years  of 
preaching.  Set  the  fellow  up  on  the  gun,  men,  as  I  ordered. 
This  is  the  way  to  generalize  with  an  Indian." 

In  a  moment,  there  stood  the  hapless  wretch,  looking 
about  him  with  an  expression  that  denoted  the  consciousness 


S20  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

of  danger,  though  it  was  not  possible  he  could  comprehend 
the  precise  mode  of  his  execution.  I  went  to  him,  and 
pressed  his  hand,  pointing  upward,  as  much  as  to  say  his 
whole  trust  was  now  in  the  Great  Spirit.  The  Indian  un 
derstood  me,  for  from  that  instant  he  assumed  an  air  of  dig 
nified  composure,  like  one  every  way  prepared  to  meet  his 
fate.  It  is  not  probable,  with  his  habits,  that  he  saw  any 
peculiar  hardship  in  his  own  case;  for  he  had,  doubtless, 
sacrificed  many  a  prisoner  under  circumstances  of  less 
exasperation  than  that  which  his  own  conduct  had  pro 
voked. 

"  Let  two  of  the  '  niggers'  take  a  turn  with  the  end  of  the 
whip  round  the  chap's  neck,"  said  Marble,  too  dignified  to 
turn  Jack  Ketch  in  person,  and  unwilling  to  set  any  of  the 
white  seamen  at  so  ungracious  an  office.  The  cook,  Joe, 
and  another  black,  soon  performed  this  revolting  duty,  from 
the  odium  of  which  a  sailor  seldom  altogether  escapes. 

I  now  perceived  Smudge  looking  upward,  seeming  to 
comprehend  the  nature  of  the  fate  that  awaited  him.  The 
deeply-seated  principle  within  him,  caused  a  dark  shadow  to 
pass  over  a  countenance  already  so  gloomy  and  wrinkled 
by  suffering  and  exposure ;  and  he  turned  his  look  wistfully 
towards  Marble,  at  whose  command  each  order  in  succession 
had  been  obeyed.  Our  new  captain  caught  that  gaze,  and 
I  was,  for  a  single  moment,  in  hope  he  would  relent,  and 
let  the  wretch  go.  But  Marble  had  persuaded  himself  he 
was  performing  a  great  act  of  nautical  justice ;  nor  was  he 
aware,  himself,  how  much  he  was  influenced  by  a  feeling 
allied  to  vengeance. 

"  Sway  away  !"  he  called  out ;  and  Smudge  was  dangling 
at  the  yard-arm  in  a  few  seconds. 

A  block  of  wood  could  not  have  been  more  motionless 
than  the  body  of  this  savage,  after  one  quivering  shudder  of 
suffering  had  escaped  it.  There  it  hung,  like  a  jewel-block, 
and  every  sign  of  life  was  soon  taken  away.  In  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  a  man  was  sent  up,  and,  cutting  the  rope,  the 
body  fell,  with  a  sharp  plunge,  into  the  water,  and  disap 
peared. 

At  a  later  day,  the  account  of  this  affair  found  its  way 
into  the  newspapers  at  home.  A  few  morilists  endeavoured 
to  throw  some  doubts  over  the  legality  and  necessity  of  tho 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  221 

proceedings,  pretending  that  more  evil  than  good  was  done 
to  the  cause  of  sacred  justice  by  such  disregard  of  law  and 
principles  ;  but  the  feeling  of  trade,  and  the  security  of  ships 
when  far  from  home,  were  motives  too  powerful  to  be  put 
down  by  the  still,  quiet  remonstrances  of  reason  and  right. 
The  abuses  to  which  such  practices  would  be  likely  to 
lead,  in  cases  in  which  one  of  the  parties  constituted  himself 
the  law,  the  judge,  and  the  executioner,  were  urged  in  vain 
against  the  active  and  ever-stimulating  incentive  of  a  love 
of  gold.  Still,  I  knew  that  Marble  wished  the  thing  undone 
when  it  was  too  late,  it  being  idle  to  think  of  quieting  the 
suggestions  of  that  monitor  God  has  implanted  within  us,  by 
the  meretricious  and  selfish  approbation  of  those  who  judge 
of  right  and  wrong  by  their  own  narrow  standard  of  interest. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

1st  Lord. — "Throca  movonsas,  cargo,  cargo,  cargo. 

All. — "  Cargo,  cargo,  villianda  par  corbo,  cargo." 

Par. — "  O  !  ransome,  ransome : — Do  not  hide  mine  eyes ' 

1st  Sold. — "  Boskos  Thromuldo  boskos." 

Par. — "  I  know  you  are  the  Muskos'  regiment, 

And  I  shall  lose  my  life  for  want  of  language. — " 
All's  Well  That  Ends  Well. 

THE  Crisis  was  tacked,  as  soon  as  the  body  of  Smudge 
was  cut  down,  and  she  moved  slowly,  her  crew  maintain 
ing  a  melancholy  silence,  out  of  the  little  haven.  I  never 
witnessed  stronger  evidence  of  sadness  in  the  evolutions  of 
a  vessel ;  the  slow  and  stately  departure  resembling  that  of 
mourners  leaving  the  grave  on  which  they  had  just  heard 
the  fall  of  the  clod.  Marble  tojd  me  afterwards,  he  had  been 
disposed  to  anchor,  and  remain  until  the  body  of  poor  Cap 
tain  Williams  should  rise,  as  it  probably  would  within  the 
next  forty-eight  hours  ;  but  the  dread  of  a  necessity  of  sacri 
ficing  more  of  the  natives,  induced  him  to  quit  the  fatal  spot, 
without  paying  the  last  duties  to  our  worthy  old  commander. 
I  always  regretted  we  did  not  remain,  for  I  think  no  Indian 
19* 


222  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

would  have  come  near  us,  had  we  continued  in  the  harbour 
a  month. 

It  was  high-noon  when  the  ship  once  more  issued  into 
the  broad  bosom  of  the  Pacific.  The  wind  was  at  south 
east,  and  as  we  drew  off  from  the  land,  it  came  fresh  and 
steady.  About  two,  having  an  offing  of  ten  or  twelve  miles, 
orders  were  issued  to  set  all  the  larboard  studding-sails,  and 
we  stood  to  the  southward  and  westward  under  a  press  of 
canvass.  Every  one  saw  in  this  change,  a  determination  to 
quit  the  coast ;  nor  did  we  regret  the  measure,  for  our  trade 
had  been  quite  successful,  down  to  the  moment  of  the  sei 
zure,  but  could  hardly  be  prosperous  after  what  had  passed. 
1  had  not  been  consulted  in  the  affair  at  all,  but  the  second- 
mate  having  the  watch,  I  was  now  summoned  to  the  cabin,  and 
let  into  the  secret  of  our  future  movements.  I  found  Marble 
seated  at  the  cabin  table,  with  Captain  Williams's  writing- 
desk  open  before  him,  and  sundry  papers  under  examination. 

"  Take  a  seat,  Mr.  Wallingford,"  said  the  new  master, 
with  a  dignity  and  manner  suited  to  the  occasion.  "  I  have 
just  been  overhauling  the  old  man's  instructions  from  the 
owners,  and  find  I  have  done  right  in  leaving  these  hang- 
gallows  rascals  to  themselves,  and  shaping  our  course  to 
the  next  point  of  destination.  As  it  is,  the  ship  has  done 
surprisingly  well.  There  are  $67,370  good  Spaniards  down 
in  the  run,  and  that  for  goods  which  I  see  are  invoiced  at 
just  $26,240 ;  and  when  you  consider  that  no  duties,  port- 
charges,  or  commissions  are  to  be  deducted,  but  that  the 
dollars  under  our  feet  are  all  our  own,  without  any  draw 
backs,  I  call  the  operation  a  good  one.  Then  that  blunder 
ing  through  the  Straits,  though  it  must  never  be  talked  of  in 
any  other  light  than  a  bold  push  for  a  quick  passage,  did  us 
a  wonderful  deal  of  good,  shoving  us  ahead  near  a  month  in 
time.  It  has  put  us  so  much  ahead  of  our  calculations,  in 
deed,  that  I  would  cruise  for  Frenchmen  for  five  or  six 
weeks,  were  there  the  least  probability  that  one  of  the  chaps 
was  to  the  westward  of  the  Horn.  Such  not  being  the  fact, 
however,  and  there  still  being  a  very  long  road  before  us,  I 
have  thought  it  best  to  push  for  the  next  point  of  destina 
tion.  Read  that  page  of  the  owner's  idees,  Mr.  Wallingford, 
and  you  will  get  their  advice  for  just  such  a  situation  as  that 
in  which  we  find  ourselves." 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  223 

The  passage  pointed  out  by  Captain  Marble  was  some- 
what  parenthetical,  and  was  simply  intended  to  aid  Captain 
Williams,  in  the  event  of  his  not  being  able  to  accomplish 
the  other  objects  of  his  voyage.  It  had  a  place  in  the 
instructions,  indeed,  solely  on  account  of  a  suggestion  of 
Marble's  himself,  the  project  being  one  of  those  favourite 
schemes  of  the  mate,  that  men  sometimes  maintain  through 
thick  or  thin,  until  they  get  to  be  ruling  thoughts.  On  Cap 
tain  Williams  it  had  not  weighed  a  feather ;  his  intention 
having  been  to  proceed  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  for  sandal- 
wood,  which  was  the  course  then  usually  pursued  by  North- 
West  traders,  after  quitting  the  coast.  The  parenthetical 
project,  however,  was  to  touch  at  the  last  island,  procure  a 
few  divers,  and  proceed  in  quest  of  certain  islands  where  it 
was  supposed  the  pearl  fishery  would  succeed.  Our  ship 
was  altogether  too  large,  and  every  way  too  expensive,  to 
be  risked  in  such  an  adventure,  and  so  I  told  the  ex-mate 
without  any  scruple.  But  this  fishery  was  a  "  fixed  idea," 
a  quick  road  to  wealth,  in  the  new  captain's  mind,  and  find 
ing  it  in  the  instructions,  though  simply  as  a  contingent 
course,  he  was  inclined  to  regard  it  as  the  great  object  of 
the  voyage.  Such  it  was  in  his  eyes,  and  such  it  ought  to 
be,  as  he  imagined,  in  those  of  the  owners. 

Marble  had  excellent  qualities  in  his  way,  but  he  was  not 
fit  to  command  a  ship.  No  man  could  stow  her  better,  fit 
her  better,  sail  her  better,  take  better  care  of  her  in  heavy 
weather,  or  navigate  her  better  ;  and  yet  he  wanted  the  judg 
ment  necessary  to  manage  the  property  that  must  be  com 
mitted  to  his  care,  and  he  had  no  more  ideas  of  commercial 
thrift,  than  if  he  had  never  been  employed  in  any  of  the 
concerns  of  commerce.  This  was,  in  truth,  the  reason  he 
had  never  risen  any  higher  in  his  profession,  the  mercantile 
instinct  —  one  of  the  liveliest  and  most  acute  to  be  found  in 
natural  history  —  forewarning  his  different  owners  that  he 
was  already  in  the  berth  nature  and  art  had  best  qualified 
him  to  fill.  It  is  wonderful  how  acute  even  dull  men  get  to 
•be,  on  the  subject  of  money  ! 

I  own  my  judgment,  such  as  it  was  at  nineteen,  was  op 
posed  to  the  opinion  of  the  captain.  I  could  see  that  the 
contingency  contemplated  by  the  instructions  had  not  arisen, 
and  that  we  should  be  acting  more  in  conformity  with  the 


224  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

wishes  of  the  owners,  by  proceeding  to  the  Sandwich  Islands 
in  quest  of  sandal- wood,  and  thence  to  China,  after  a  cargo 
of  teas.  Marble  was  not  to  be  convinced,  however,  though 
I  think  my  arguments  shook  him  a  little.  What  might  have 
been  the  result,  it  is  difficult  to  say,  had  not  chance  be 
friended  the  views  of  each  of  us,  respectively.  It  is  proper 
to  add,  that  Marble  availed  himself  of  this  opportunity  to 
promote  Talcott,  who  was  brought  into  the  cabin  as  third- 
mate.  I  rejoiced  greatly  in  this  addition  to  our  little  circle 
on  the  quarter-deck,  Talcott  being  a  man  of  education,  much 
nearer  my  own  age  than  the  two  others,  and  united  to  me 
by  unusual  ties  since  our  common  adventure  in  the  prize. 
(  was  not  only  rejoiced  to  be  able  to  associate  with  him,  but 
to  hear  him  called  Mr.  Talcott. 

We  had  a  long,  but  mild,  passage  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
This  group  occupied  a  very  different  place,  in  the  opinions 
of  the  world,  in  the  year  1800,  from  that  it  fills  to-day.  Still 
it  had  made  some  small  advances  in  civilization  since  the 
time  of  Cook.  I  am  told  there  are  churches,  taverns,  billiard- 
tables,  and  stone  dwellings  in  these  islands  now,  which  are 
fast  turning  to  the  Christian  religion,  and  obtaining  the  med 
ley  of  convenience,  security,  vice,  roguery,  law  and  comfort, 
that  is  known  as  civilization.  It  was  far  different  then,  our 
reception  being  by  men  who  were  but  a  small  degree  re 
moved  from  savages.  Among  those  who  first  came  on  board 
us,  however,  was  the  master  of  an  American  brig,  belonging 
to  Boston,  whose  vessel  had  got  on  a  reef,  and  bilged.  He 
intended  to  remain  by  the  wreck,  but  wished  to  dispose  of  a 
considerable  amount  of  sandal-wood  that  was  still  in  his 
vessel,  and  for  the  safety  of  which  he  was  under  great  con* 
cern,  as  the  first  gale  of  wind  might  scatter  it  to  the  winds 
of  the  ocean.  If  he  could  obtain  a  fresh  stock  of  goods  to 
trade  on,  he  proposed  remaining  on  the  islands  until  another 
vessel  belonging  to  the  same  owners,  which  was  expected  in 
a  few  months,  should  arrive,  on  board  which  vessel  he  in 
tended  to  embark  with  everything  he  could  save  from  the 
wreck,  and  such  wood  as  he  could  purchase  in  the  interim. 
Captain  Marble  rubbed  his  hands  with  delight,  when  he  re 
turned  from  a  visit  to  the  wreck,  his  arrangements  all  com 
pleted. 

"  Luck  is  with  us,  Master  Miles,"  he  said,  "  and  we  '11  be 


-• 

AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  225 

off  for  them  pearl  fisheries  next  week.  I  have  bought  all 
the  sandal-wood  in  the  wreck,  paying  in  trumpery,  and  at 
prices  only  about  double  Indian  trade,  and  we  will  heave  up, 
and  carry  the  ship  round  to  the  wreck,  and  begin  to  take  in 
this  afternoon.  There  is  capital  holding-ground  inside  the 
reef,  and  the  ship  can  be  safely  carried  within  a  hundred 
fathoms  of  her  cargo  !" 

All  turned  out  as  Marble  had  hoped  and  predicted,  and 
the  Crisis  was  back  at  her  anchorage  in  front  of  the  village, 
which  is  now  the  city  of  Honolulu,  within  the  week  named. 
We  got  our  supply  of  hogs,  and  having  procured  four  of  the 
best  divers  going,  we  sailed  in  quest  of  Captain  Marble's 
Eldorado  of  pearls.  I  was  less  opposed  to  the  scheme  than 
I  had  been,  for  we  were  now  so  much  in  advance  of  our 
time,  that  we  could  afford  to  pass  a  few  weeks  among  the 
islands,  previously  to  sailing  for  China.  Our  course  was  to 
the  south-west,  crossing  the  line  in  about  170°  west  longi 
tude.  There  was  a  clear  sea,  for  more  than  a  fortnight, 
while  we  were  near  the  equator,  the  ship  making  but  little 
progress.  Glad  enough  was  I  to  hear  the  order  given  to 
turn  more  to  the  northward  again  ;  for  the  heat  was  oppres 
sive,  and  this  was  inclining  towards  our  route  to  China. 
We  had  been  out  from  Owyhee,  as  it  was  then  usual  to  call 
the  island  where  Cook  was  killed  —  Hawaii,  as  it  is  called 
to-day — we  had  been  out  from  this  island,  about  a  month, 
when  Marble  came  up  to  me  one  fine,  moon-light  evening, 
in  my  watch,  rubbing  his  hands,  as  was  his  custom  when  in 
good  humour,  and  broke  out  as  follows  : — 

"  I  '11  tell  you  what,  Miles,"  he  said, "  you  and  I  have 
been  sailed  down  by  Providence  for  something  more  than 
common  !  Just  look  back  at  all  our  adventures  in  the  last 
three  years,  and  see  what  they  come  to.  Firstly,  (.here  was 
shipwreck  over  here  on  the  coast  of  Madagascar,"  jerking 
his  thumb  over  a  shoulder  in  a  manner  that  was  intended 
to  indicate  about  two  hundred  degrees  of  longitude,  thai 
being  somewhat  near  our  present  distance  from  the  place  he 
mentioned,  in  an  air  line ;  "  then  followed  the  boat  business 
under  the  Isle  of  Bourbon,  and  the  affair  with  the  privateer, 
off  Guadaloupe.  Well,  as  if  that  wern't  enough,  we  ship 
together  again  in  this  vessel,  and  a  time  we  had  of  it  with 
the  French  letter-of-marque.  After  that,  a  devil  of  a  pas- 


I 

226  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

sage  we  made  of  it  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  Then 
came  the  melancholy  loss  of  Captain  Williams,  and  all  that 
business ;  after  which  we  got  the  sandal-wood  out  of  the 
wreck,  which  I  consider  the  luckiest  transaction  of  all." 

"  I  hope  you  don't  set  down  the  loss  of  Captain  Williams 
among  our  luck,  sir  !" 

"  Not  I,  but  the  stuff  is  all  logged  together,  you  know ; 
and,  in  overhauling  for  one  idee,  in  such  a  mess,  a  fellow  is 
apt  to  get  hold  of  another.  As  I  was  saying,  we  have  been 
amazingly  lucky,  and  I  expect  nothing  else  but  we  shall 
discover  an  island  yet!" 

"  Can  that  be  of  any  great  service  to  us  ?  There  are  so 
many  owners  ready  to  start  up  and  claim  such  discoveries, 
that  I  question  if  it  would  do  us  any  great  benefit." 

"  Let  them  start  up — who  cares  for  them  ;  we  '11  have  the 
christening,  and  that's  half  the  battle.  Marble  Land,  Wal- 
/ingford  Bay,  Talcott  Hills,  and  Cape  Crisis,  would  look 
well  on  a  chart — ha  !  Miles  ?" 

"  I  have  no  objection  to  see  it,  sir." 

"  Land  ho !"  cried  the  look-out  on  the  forecastle. 

"  There  it  is  now,  by  George !"  cried  Marble,  springing 
forward — "  I  overhauled  the  chart  half  an  hour  since,  and 
there  ought  to  be  nothing  within  six  hundred  miles  of  us." 

There  it  was,  sure  enough,  and  much  nearer  to  us  than 
was  at  all  desirable.  So  near,  indeed,  that  the  wash  of  the 
breakers  on  the  reef  that  so  generally  lies  off  from  the  low 
coral  islands  of  the  Pacific,  was  distinctly  audible  from  the 
ship.  The  moon  gave  a  strong  light,  it  is  true,  and  the 
night  was  soft  and  balmy  ;  but  the  air,  which  was  very  light, 
blew  directly  towards  this  reef,  and  then  there  were  always 
currents  to  apprehend.  We  sounded,  but  got  no  bottom. 

"  Ay,  this  is  one  of  your  coral  reefs,  where  a  man  goes 
on  the  rocks  from  off  soundings,  at  a  single  jump,"  muttered 
Marble,  ordering  the  ship  brought  by  the  wind  on  the  best 
tack  to  haul  off  shore.  "  No  notice,  and  a  wreck.  As  for 
anchoring  in  such  a  place,  a  fellow  might  as  well  run  a  line 
out  to  Japan ;  and,  could  an  anchor  find  the  bottom,  the 
cable  would  have  some  such  berth  as  a  man  who  slept  in  a 
hammock  filled  with  open  razors." 

All  this  was  true  enough  ;  and  we  watched  the  effect  of 
our  change  of  course  with  the  greatest  anxiety.  All  hands 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  227 

were  called,  and  the  men  were  stationed,  in  readiness  to 
work  the  ship.  But,  a  few  minutes  satisfied  us,  the  hope  of 
clawing  off,  in  so  light  an  air,  was  to  the  last  degree  vain. 
The  vessel  set  in  fast  towards  the  reef,  the  breakers  on 
which  now  became  apparent,  even  by  the  light  of  the  moon  ; 
the  certain  sign  they  were  fearfully  near. 

This  was  one  of  those  moments  in  which  Marble  could 
show  himself  to  be  a  true  man.  He  was  perfectly  calm 
and  self-possessed;  and  stood  on  the  taffrail,  giving  his 
orders,  with  a  distinctness  and  precision  I  had  never  seen 
surpassed.  I  was  kept  in  the  chains,  myself,  to  watch  the 
casts  of  the  lead.  No  bottom,  however,  was  the  never- fail 
ing  report ;  nor  was  any  bottom  expected  ;  it  being  known 
that  these  reefs  were  quite  perpendicular  on  their  seaward 
side.  The  captain  called  out  to  me,  from  time  to  time,  to 
be  active  and  vigilant,  as  our  set  inshore  was  uncontrolla 
ble,  and  the  boats,  if  in  the  water,  as  the  launch  could  not 
be  for  twenty  minutes,  would  be  altogether  useless.  I  pro 
posed  to  lower  the  yawl,  and  to  pull  .to  leeward,  to  try  the 
soundings,  in  order  to  ascertain  if  it  were  not  possible  to  find 
bottom  at  some  point  short  of  the  reef,  on  which  we  should 
hopelessly  be  set,  unless  checked  by  some  such  means,  in 
the  course  of  the  next  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes. 

"  Do  it  at  once,  sir,"  cried  Marble.  "  The  thought  is  a 
good  one,  and  does  you  credit,  Mr.  Wallingford." 

I  left  the  ship  in  less  than  five  minutes,  and  pulled  off, 
under  the  ship's  lee-bow,  knowing  that  tacking  or  waring 
would  be  out  of  the  question,  under  the  circumstances.  I 
stood  up  in  the  stern-sheets,  and  made  constant  casts  with 
the  hand-lead,  with  a  short  line,  however,  as  the  boat  went 
foaming  through  the  water.  The  reef  was  now  plainly  in 
sight,  and  I  could  see,  as  well  as  hear,  the  long,  formidable 
ground-swells  of  the  Pacific,  while  fetching  up  against  these 
solid  barriers,  they  rolled  over,  broke,  and  went  beyond  the 
rocks  in  angry  froth.  At  this  perilous  instant,  when  I 
would  not  have  given  the  poorest  acre  of  Clawbonny  to 
have  been  the  owner  of  the  Crisis,  I  saw  a  spot  to  leeward 
that  was  comparatively  still,  or  in  which  the  water  did  not 
break.  It  was  not  fifty  fathoms  from  me  when  first  disco 
vered,  and  towards  it  I  steered,  animating  the  men  to  re 
doubled  exertions.  We  were  in  this  narrow  belt  of  smooth 


228  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

water,  as  it  might  be  in  an  instant,  and  the  current  sucked 
the  boat  through  it  so  fast,  as  to  allow  time  to  make  but  a 
single  cast  of  the  lead.  I  got  bottom ;  but  it  was  in  six 
fathoms ! 

The  boat  was  turned,  and  headed  out  again,  as  if  life  and 
death  depended  on  the  result.  The  ship  was  fortunately 
within  sound  of  the  voice,  steering  still  by  the  wind,  though 
setting  three  feet  towards  the  reef,  for  one  made  in  the 
desired  direction ;  and  I  hailed. 

"  What  now,  Mr.  Wallingford  ?"  demanded  Marble,  as 
calmly  as  if  anchored  near  a  wharf  at  home. 

"  Do  you  see  the  boat,  sir  ?" 

"  Quite  plainly  ; — God  knows  you  are  near  enough  to  be 
seen." 

"  Has  the  ship  steerage-way  on  her,  Captain  Marble  ?" 

"  Just  that,  and  nothing  more  to  boast  of." 

"  Then  ask  no  questions  ;  but  try  to  follow  the  boat.  It 
is  the  only  hope  ;  and  it  may  succeed." 

I  got  no  answer ;  but  I  heard  the  deep,  authoritative  voice 
of  Marble,  ordering  the  "  helm  up,"  and  the  men  "  to  man 
the  weather-braces."  I  could  scarcely  breathe,  while  I 
stood  looking  at  the  ship's  bows,  as  they  fell  off,  and  noted 
her  slow  progress  ahead.  Her  speed  increased  sensibly, 
however,  and  I  kept  the  boat  far  enough  to  windward  to 
give  the  vessel  room  fairly  to  enter  the  pass.  At  the  proper 
moment,  we  moved  towards  the  inlet,  the  Crisis  keeping 
more  and  more  away,  in  order  to  follow.  I  was  soon  in 
the  pass  itself,  the  water  breaking  within  ten  fathoms  on 
each  side  of  me,  sending  portions  of  its  foam,  to  the  very 
blades  of  our  oars  ;  but  the  lead  still  gave  me  six  fathoms. 
At  the  next  cast,  I  got  ten ;  and  then  the  ship  was  at  the 
point  where  I  had  just  before  found  six.  The  breakers 
were  roaring  behind  me,  and  I  pulled  round,  and  waited  for 
the  ship,  steering  to  the  southward,  sounding  as  I  went.  I 
could  see  that  the  ship  hauled  up,  and  that  I  was  already 
behind  the  reef.  Straining  my  voice,  I  now  called  out — 

"Anchor,  sir  —  bear  a  hand  and  anchor,  as  soon  ay 
possible." 

Not  a  word  came  back;  but  up  went  the  courses,  fol 
lowed  by  the  top-gallant-sails,  after  which  down  went  the  jib. 
T  heard  the  fore  and  main-top-sail-halyards  overhauling 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  229 

themselves,  spite  of  the  roar  of  the  breakers,  and  then  the 
ship  luffed  into  the  wind.  Glad  enough  was  1  to  hear  tho 
heavy  plunge  of  one  of  the  bowers,  as  it  fell  from  the  cat 
head  into  the  water.  Even  then  I  remained  stationary,  to 
note  the  result.  The  ship  took  her  scope  of  cable  freely, 
after  which  I  observed  that  she  was  brought  up.  The  next 
moment  I  was  on  board  her. 

"  A  close  shave,  Mr.  Wallingford,"  said  Marble,  giving 
me  a  squeeze  of  the  hand,  that  said  more  for  his  feelings 
than  any  words  such  a  being  could  utter  ;  "  and  many 
thanks  for  your  piloting.  Is  not  that  land  I  see,  away  here 
to  leeward  —  more  to  the  westward,  boy  ?" 

"  It  is,  sir,  beyond  a  doubt.  It  must  be  one  of  the  coral 
islands;  and  this  is  the  reef  that  usually  lies  to  seaward 
from  them.  There  is  the  appearance  of  trees  ashore  !" 

"  It 's  a  discovery,  youngster,  and  will  make  us  all  great 
names !  Remember,  this  passage  I  call  *  Miles's  Inlet ;' 
and  to  the  reef,  I  give  the  name  of  *  Yawl  Reef.' " 

I  could  not  smile  at  this  touch  of  Marble's  vanity,  for 
concern  left  me  no  thoughts  but  for  the  ship.  The  weather 
was  now  mild  and  the  bay  smooth  ;  the  night  was  fine,  and 
it  might  be  of  the  last  importance  to  us  to  know  something 
more  of  our  situation.  The  cable  might  chafe  off,  probably 
would,  so  near  a  coral  reef;  and  I  offered  to  pull  in  towards 
the  land,  sounding  as  I  went,  and  otherwise  gaining  the 
knowledge  that  might  be  necessary  to  our  security.  After 
a  little  reflection,  the  captain  consented,  ordering  me  to  take 
provisions  and  water  in  the  boat,  as  the  duty  might  detain 
me  until  morning. 

I  found  the  bay  between  the  reef  and  the  island  about  a 
league  in  breadth,  and  across  its  entire  width,  the  sound 
ings  did  not  vary  much  from  ten  fathoms.  The  outer  bar 
rier  of  rock,  on  which  the  sea  broke,  appeared  to  be  an 
advanced  wall,  that  the  indefatigable  little  insects  had 
erected,  as  it  might  be,  in  defence  of  their  island,  which  had 
probably  been  raised  from  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  a  century 
or  two  ago,  by  some  of  their  own  ancestors.  The  gigantic 
works  completed  by  these  little  aquatic  animals,  are  well 
known  to  navigators,  and  give  us  some  tolerably  accurate 
notions  of  the  manner  in  which  the  face  of  the  globe  has 
been  made  to  undergo  some  of  its  alterations.  I  found  the 
20 


230  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

land  easy  of  access,  low,  wooded,  and  without  any  sign  of 
habitation.  The  night  was  so  fine  that  I  ventured  inland, 
and  after  walking  more  than  a  mile,  most  of  the  distance  in 
a  grove  of  cocoa  and  bananas,  I  came  to  the  basin  of  water 
that  is  usually  found  in  the  islands  of  this  particular  forma 
tion.  The  inlet  from  the  sea  was  at  no  great  distance,  and 
I  sent  one  of  the  men  back  to  the  yawl,  with  orders  for  the 
boat  to  proceed  thither.  I  next  sounded  the  inlet  and  the 
bay,  and  found  everywhere  a  sandy  bottom,  and  about  ten 
fathoms  of  water.  As  I  expected,  the  shoalest  spot  was  the 
inlet ;  but  in  this,  which  I  sounded  thoroughly,  there  was 
nowhere  less  than  five.  It  was  now  midnight ;  and  1 
should  have  remained  on  the  island  until  morning,  to  make 
further  surveys  by  daylight,  had  we  not  seen  the  ship,  under 
her  canvass,  and  so  much  nearer  to  us  than  we  had  sup 
posed  possible,  as  to  satisfy  me  she  was  drifting  in  fast 
towards  the  land.  Of  course  I  did  not  hesitate,  but  pulled 
on  board. 

It  was  as  I  suspected.  The  rocks  so  near  the  reef  had 
chafed  off  the  cable  ;  the  ship  struck  adrift,  and  Marble  was 
under  his  canvass  waiting  my  return,  in  order  to  ascertain 
where  he  might  anchor  anew.  I  told  him  of  the  lagoon  in 
the  centre  of  the  island,  and  gave  him  every  assurance  of 
there  being  water  enough  to  carry  in  any  craft  that  floats. 
My  reputation  was  up,  in  consequence  of  the  manner  the 
ship  had  been  taken  through  the  first  inlet,  and  I  was  order 
ed  to  conn  her  into  this  new  haven. 

The  task  was  not  difficult.  The  lightness  of  the  wind, 
and  uncertainty  about  the  currents  proving  the  only  source 
of  embarrassment,  I  succeeded  in  finding  the  passage,  after 
a  short  trial ;  and  sending  the  boat  ahead,  under  Talcott,  as 
an  additional  precaution,  soon  had  the  Crisis  floating  in  the 
very  centre  of  this  natural  dock.  Sail  was  shortened  as  we 
came  in,  and  the  ship  made  a  flying  moor ;  after  which 
we  lay  as  securely,  as  if  actually  in  some  basin  wrought  by 
art.  It  is  my  opinion,  the  vessel  would  have  ridden  out  the 
hardest  gale,  or  anything  short  of  a  hurricane,  at  single 
anchor,  in  that  place.  The  sense  of  security  was  now  so 
strong  upon  us,  that  we  rolled  up  our  canvass,  set  an  anchor 
watch  of  only  one  man,  and  turned  in. 

I  never  laid  my  head  down,  on   board  ship,  with  greater 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  231 

satisfaction,  than  I  did  that  night.  Let  the  truth  be  frankly 
stated.  I  was  perfectly  satisfied  with  myself.  It  was  owing 
to  my  decision  and  vigilance  that  the  ship  was  saved,  when 
outside  the  reef,  out  of  all  question ;  and  I  think  she  would 
have  been  lost  after  she  struck  adrift,  had  I  not  discovered 
her  present  berth.  There  she  was,  however,  with  land  vir 
tually  all  round  her,  a  good  bottom,  plenty  of  water,  and 
well  moored.  As  I  have  said  already,  she  could  not  be 
better  secured  in  an  artificial  dock.  In  the  midst  of  the 
Pacific,  away  from  all  custom-house  officers,  in  a  recently 
discovered  and  uninhabited  island,  there  was  nothing  to  fear. 
Men  sleep  soundly  in  such  circumstances,  and  I  should  have 
been  in  a  deep  slumber  in  a  minute  after  I  was  in  my  berth, 
had  not  Marble's  conversation  kept  me  awake,  quite  unwil 
lingly  on  my  part,  for  five  minutes.  His  state-room  door 
was  open,  and,  through  it,  the  following  discourse  was  held. 

"  I  think,  on  the  whole,"  commenced  the  captain,  "  it  will 
be  better  to  generalize  a  little  more," — this  was  a  favourite 
expression  of  the  ex-mate's,  and  one  he  often  used  without 
exactly  knowing  its  application  himself. — "  Yes,  to  general 
ize  a  little  more ;  it  shall  be  Marble  Land,  Wallingford  Bay, 
Yawl,  Reef,  Talcott  Inlet,  Miles's  Anchorage — and  a  d — d 
bad  anchorage  it  was,  Miles  ;  but,  never  mind,  we  must  take 
the  good  with  the  bad,  in  this  wicked  world." 

"  Very  true,  sir ;  but  as  for  taking  that  anchorage,  you 
must  excuse  me,  as  I  shall  never  take  it  again." 

"  Perhaps  not.  Well,  this  is  what  I  call  comfort — ha ! 
Talcott?— Is  Talcott  asleep,  Miles?" 

"  He  and  the  second-mate  are  hard  at  it,  sir — full  and 
by,  and  going  ten  knots,"  I  muttered,  wishing  my  tormentor 
in  Japan,  at  the  moment. 

"  Ay ;  they  are  rackers  at  a  sleep !  I  say,  Miles,  such  a 
discovery  as  this  will  make  a  man's  fortune !  The  world 
generalizes  in  discoveries,  altogether,  making  no  great  matter 
of  distinction  between  your  Columbuses,  Cooks,  or  Mar 
bles.  An  island  is  an  island,  and  he  who  first  discovers 
it,  has  the  credit.  Poor  Captain  Williams  !  He  would  have 
sailed  this  ship  for  a  whole  generation,  and  never  found  any 
thing  in  the  way  of  novelty." 

"Except  the  Straits  — "  I  muttered  very  indistinctly, 
breathing  deep  and  hard. 


S32  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"Ay,  that  was  an  affair!  Hadn't  you  and  T  been 
aboard,  the  ship  never  would  have  done  that.  We  are  the 
very  offspring  of  luck  !  There  was  the  affair  of  the  wreck 
off  Madagascar — there  are  bloody  currents  in  the  Pacific, 
too,  I  find,  Miles." 

"  Yes,  sir — hard-a-wealher — " 

"  The  fellow's  dreaming.  One  word,  boy,  before  you  cut 
loose  from  all  reason  and  reflection.  Don't  you  think  it 
would  be  a  capital  idea  to  poke  in  a  little  patriotism  among 
the  names ;  patriotism  goes  so  far  in  our  part  of  the  world. 
Congress  Rocks  would  be  a  good  title  for  the  highest  part 
of  the  reef,  and  Washington  Sands  would  do  for  the  landing 
you  told  me  of.  Washington  should  have  a  finger  in  the 
pie." 

"  Crust  isn't  down,  sir." 

"  The  fellow  's  off,  and  I  may  as  well  follow,  though  it  is 
not  easy  to  sleep  on  the  honour  of  a  discovery  like  this. 
Good  night,  Miles !" 

"  Ay,  ay  !  sir." 

Such  was  the  account  Marble  afterwards  gave  me  of  the 
termination  of  the  dialogue.  Sleep,  sleep,  sleep !  Never 
did  men  enjoy  their  rest  more  than  we  did  for  the  next  five 
hours,  the  ship  being  as  silent  as  a  church  on  a  week-day, 
during  the  whole  time.  For  myself,  I  can  safely  say  I 
heard  nothing,  or  knew  nothing,  until  I  was  awakened  by  a 
violent  shake  of  the  shoulder.  Supposing  myself  to  have 
been  aroused  for  an  ordinary  watch  at  sea,  I  was  erect  in 
an  instant,  and  found  the  sun's  rays  streaming  into  my  face, 
through  the  cabin-windows.  This  prevented  me,  for  a  mo 
ment,  from  seeing  that  I  had  been  disturbed  by  Captain 
Marble  himself.  The  latter  waited  until  he  perceived  I 
could  understand  him,  and  then  he  said,  in  a  grave,  mean 
ing  manner — 

"  Miles,  there  is  a  mutiny  in  the  ship !  Do  you  under 
stand  me,  Mr.  Wallingford  ? — a  bloody  mutiny  !" 

"  A  mutiny,  Captain  Marble  !  You  confound  me,  sir — I 
had  thought  our  people  perfectly  satisfied." 

"  Umph  !  One  never  knows  whether  the  copper  will  come 
up  head  or  tail.  I  thought,  when  I  turned  in  last  night,  it 
was  to  take  the  surest  nap  I  ever  tasted  afloat ;  and  here  I 
awake  and  find  a  mutiny!" 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  233 

I  was  on  my  feet  and  dressing  in  an  instant,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  having  first  gone  to  the  berths  of  the  two  other 
mates,  and  given  each  a  call. 

*'  But  how  do  you  know  this,  Captain  Marble  ?"  I  resumed, 
as  soon  as  there  was  a  chance.  "  I  hear  no  disturbance, 
and  the  ship  is  just  where  we  left  her,"  glancing  through  the 
cabin-windows  ;  "  I  think  you  must  be  mistaken,  sir." 

"  Not  I.  I  turned  out,  ten  minutes  since,  and  was  about 
to  go  on  deck  to  get  a  look  at  your  basin,  and  breathe  the 
fresh  air,  when  I  ibund  the  companion-doors  fastened,  pre 
cisely  Smudge-fashion.  I  suppose  you  will  allow  that  no 
regular  ship's  company  would  dare  to  fasten  the  officers  be 
low,  unless  they  intended  to  seize  the  craft." 

"  This  is  very  extraordinary !  Perhaps  some  accident 
has  befallen  the  doors.  Did  you  call  out,  sir?" 

"  I  thumped  like  an  admiral,  but  got  no  answer.  When 
on  the  point  of  trying  the  virtue  of  a  few  kicks,  I  overheard 
a  low  laugh  on  deck,  and  that  let  me  into  the  secret  of  the 
state  of  the  nation  at  once.  I  suppose  you  will  all  admit, 
gentlemen,  when  sailors  laugh  at  their  officers,  as  well  as 
batten  them  down,  that  they  must  be  somewhat  near  a  state 
of  mutiny." 

"  It  does  look  so,  indeed,  sir.  We  had  better  arm  the 
moment  we  are  dressed,  Captain  Marble." 

"  I  have  done  that  already,  and  you  will  each  find  loaded 
pistols  in  my  state-room." 

In  two  minutes  from  that  moment,  all  four  of  us  were  in 
a  state  for  action,  each  man  armed  with  a  brace  of  ship's 
pistols,  well-loaded  and  freshly  primed.  Marble  was  for 
making  a  rush  at  the  cabin-doors,  at  once ;  but  I  suggested 
the  improbability  of  the  steward  or  Neb's  being  engaged  in 
any  plot  against  the  officers,  and  thought  it  might  be  well 
to  ascertain  what  had  become  of  the  two  blacks,  before  we 
commenced  operations.  Talcott  proceeded  instantly  to  the 
steerage,  where  the  steward  slept,  and  returned  in  a  moment 
to  report  that  he  had  found  him  sound  asleep  in  his  berth. 

Reinforced  by  this  man,  Captain  Marble  determined  to 

make  his  first  demonstration  by  way  of  the  forecastle,  where, 

by  acting  with  caution,  a  surprise  on  the  mutineers  might  be 

effected.     It  will  be  remembered  that  a  door  communicated 

20* 


234  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

with  the  forecastle,  the  fastenings  of  which  were  on  the  side 
of "  'twixt  decks."  Most  of  the  cargo  being  in  the  lower 
hold,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  making  our  way  to  this  door, 
where  we  stopped  and  listened,  in  order  to  learn  the  state  of 
things  on  the  other  side  of  the  bulkhead.  Marble  had  whis 
pered  to  me,  as  we  groped  our  way  along  in  the  sort  of  twi 
light  which  pervaded  the  place,  the  hatches  being  on  and 
secured,  that  "them  bloody  Philadelphians"  must  be  at  the 
bottom  of  the  mischief,  as  our  old  crew  were  a  set  of  as 
"  peaceable,  well-disposed  chaps  as  ever  eat  duff  (dough)  out 
of  a  kid." 

The  result  of  the  listening  was  to  produce  a  general  sur 
prise.  Out  of  all  question,  snoring,  and  that  on  no  small 
scale  of  the  gamut  of  Morpheus,  was  unequivocally  heard. 
Marble  instantly  opened  the  door,  and  we  entered  the  fore 
castle,  pistols  in  hand.  Every  berth  had  its  tenant,  and  all 
hands  were  asleep  !  Fatigue,  and  the  habit  of  waiting  for 
calls,  had  evidently  kept  each  of  the  seamen  in  his  berth, 
until  that  instant.  Contrary  to  usage  in  so  warm  a  climate, 
the  scuttle  was  on,  and  a  trial  soon  told  us  it  was  fast. 

"  To  generalize  on  this  idee,  Miles,"  exclaimed  the  cap 
tain,  "  I  should  say  we  are  again  battened  down  by 
savages !" 

"  It  does  indeed  look  so,  sir ;  and  yet  I  saw  no  sign  of  the 
island's  being  inhabited.  It  may  be  well,  Captain  Marble, 
to  muster  the  crew,  that  we  may  learn  who  's  who." 

"  Quite  right — do  you  turn  'em  up,  and  send  'em  all  aft 
into  the  cabin,  where  we  have  more  daylight." 

I  set  about  awaking  the  people,  which  was  not  difficult, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  everybody  was  sent  aft.  Following 
the  crew,  it  was  soon  found  that  only  one  man  was  missing, 
and  he  was  the  very  individual  whom  we  had  left  on  deck, 
when  we  had  all  gone  below  on  securing  the  ship.  Every 
soul  belonging  to  the  vessel  was  present  in  the  cabin,  or 
steerage,  but  this  solitary  man — Philadelphians  and  all ! 

"  It  can  never  be  that  Harris  has  dared  to  trifle  with  us," 
said  Talcott ;  "  and  yet  it  does  look  surprisingly  like  it." 

"Quite  sure,  Miles,  that  Marble  Land  is  an  uninhabited 
island  ?"  said  the  captain,  interrogatively. 

"  I  can  only  say,  sir,  that  it  is  as  much  like  all  the  other 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  235 

uninhabited  coral  islands  we  have  passed,  as  one  pea  is  like 
another ;  and  that  there  were  no  signs  of  a  living  being  visi 
ble  last  night.  It  is  true,  we  saw  but  little  of  the  island, 
though  to  all  appearances  there  was  not  much  to  see." 

"  Unluckily,  all  the  men's  arms  are  on  deck,  in  the  arm- 
ehest,  or  strapped  to  the  boom  or  masts.  There  is  no  use, 
however,  in  dillydallying  against  one  man ;  so  I  will  make 
a  rumpus  that  will  soon  bring  the  chap  to  his  bearings." 

Hereupon  Marble  made  what  he  called  a  rumpus  in  good 
earnest.  I  thought,  for  a  minute,  he  would  kick  the  cabin- 
doors  down. 

"  'Andzomelee — 'andzomelee,"  said  some  one  on  deck. 
"  Vat  for  you  make  so  much  kick?" 

"  Who  the  devil  are  you  ?"  demanded  Marble,  kicking 
harder  than  ever.  "  Open  the  cabin-doors,  or  I  '11  kick  them 
down,  and  yourself  overboard." 

"  Monsieur — sair,"  rejoined  another  voice,  "  tenez — you 
air  prisonnier.  Comprenez-vous — prisonair,  eh  ?" 

"  These  are  Frenchmen,  Captain  Marble,"  I  exclaimed, 
"  and  we  are  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy." 

This  was  astounding  intelligence  •  so  much  so,  that  all 
had  difficulty  in  believing  it.  A  further  parley,  however, 
destroyed  our  hopes,  little  by  little,  until  we  entered  into  an 
arrangement  with  those  on  deck,  to  the  following  effect :  I 
was  to  be  permitted  to  go  out,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  real 
facts  of  our  situation  ;  while  Marble  and  the  remainder  of  the 
crew  were  to  remain  below,  passive,  until  the  result  should 
be  reported.  Under  this  arrangement,  one  of  the  cabin- 
doors  was  opened,  and  I  sallied  forth. 

Astonishment  almost  deprived  me  of  the  power  of  vision, 
when  I  looked  around  me.  Quite  fifty  armed  white  men, 
sailors  and  natives  of  France,  by  their  air  and  language, 
crowded  round  me,  as  curious  to  see  me,  as  I  could  possibly 
be  to  see  them.  In  their  midst  was  Harris,  who  approached 
me  with  an  embarrassed  and  sorrowful  air — 

"  I  know  I  deserve  death,  Mr.  Wallingford,"  this  man 
commenced ;  "  but  I  fell  asleep  after  so  much  work,  and 
everything  looking  so  safe  and  out-of-harm's-way  like;  and 
when  I  woke  up,  I  found  these  people  on  board,  and  in  pos 
session  of  the  ship." 


236  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

"  In  the  name  of  wonder,  whence  come  they,  Harris  ?  ia 
there  a  French  ship  at  the  island  ?' 

"  By  all  I  can  learn  and  see,  sir,  they  are  the  crew  of  a 
wrecked  letter-of-marque  —  an  Iridiaman  of  some  sort  or 
other;  and  finding  a  good  occasion  to  get  off  the  island,  and 
make  a  rich  prize,  they  have  helped  themselves  to  the  peor 
Crisis — God  bless  her !  say  I,  though  she  is  now  under  the 
French  flag,  I  suppose." 

I  looked  up  at  the  gaff,  and,  sure  enough,  there  was  flying 
the  tri-color  ! 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  237 


CHAPTEE  XVI. 

u  The  morning  air  blows  fresh  on  him :" 

"  The  waves  dance  gladly  in  his  sight ;" 

w  The  sea-birds  call,  and  wheel,  and  skim — " 

"  O,  blessed  morning  light !" 

"  He  doth  not  hear  their  joyous  call ;  he  sees 

"  No  beauty  in  the  wave,  nor  feels  the  breeze." 

DANA. 

TRUTH  is,  truly,  often  stranger  than  fiction.  The  history 
of  the  circumstances  that  brought  us  into  the  hands  of  oui 
enemies  will  fully  show  this.  La  Pauline  was  a  ship  of  six 
hunched  tons,  that  carried  letters-of-marque  from  the  French 
government.  She  sailed  from  France  a  few  weeks  after  we 
had  left  London,  bound  on  a  voyage  somewhat  similar  to 
our  own,  though  neither  sea-otter  skins,  sandal-wood,  nor 
pearls,  formed  any  part  of  her  contemplated  bargains.  Her 
first  destination  was  the  French  islands  off  Madagascar, 
where  she  left  part  of  her  cargo,  and  took  in  a  few  valuables 
in  return.  Thence  she  proceeded  to  the  Philippine  Islands, 
passing  in  the  track  of  English  and  American  traders,  cap- 
turing  two  of  the  former,  and  sinking  them  after  taking  out 
such  portions  of  cargo  as  suited  her  own  views.  From 
Manilla,  la  Pauline  shaped  her  course  for  the  coast  of  South 
America,  intending  to  leave  certain  articles  brought  from 
France,  others  purchased  at  Bourbon,  the  Isle  of  France, 
and  the  Philippines,  and  divers  bales  and  boxes  found  in  the 
holds  of  her  prizes,  in  that  quarter  of  the  world,  in  exchange 
for  the  precious  metals.  In  effecting  all  this,  Monsieur  Le 
Compte,  her  commander,  relied,  firstly,  on  the  uncommon 
sailing  of  his  ship ;  secondly,  on  his  own  uncommon  boldness 
and  dexterity,  and  thirdly  on  the  well-known  disposition  of 


238  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

the  South  Americans  to  smuggle.  Doubloons  and  dollars 
taking  up  but  little  room,  he  reserved  most  of  the  interior 
of  his  vessel,  after  his  traffic  on  the  "  Main,"  for  such  pro 
perty  as  might  be  found  in  the  six  or  eight  prizes  he  calcu 
lated,  with  certainty,  on  making,  after  getting  to  the  east 
ward  of  the  Horn.  All  these  well-grounded  anticipations 
had  been  signally  realized  down  to  a  period  of  just  three 
months  to  a  day,  prior  to  our  own  ariival  at  this  unhappy 
island. 

On  the  night  of  the  day  just  mentioned,  la  Pauline,  with 
out  the  smallest  notice  of  the  vicinity  of  any  danger,  running 
in  an  easy  bowline,  and  without  much  sea,  had  brought  up 
on  another  part  of  the  very  reef  from  which  we  had  made 
so  narrow  an  escape.  The  rocks  being  coral,  there  was 
little  hope  for  her ;  and,  in  fact,  they  appeared  through  her 
bottom  within  two  hours  after  she  struck.  The  sugars  taken 
in  at  the  Isle  of  France,  as  a  ground  tier  of  ballast,  were 
soon  rendered  of  doubtful  value,  as  a  matter  of  course,  but 
the  weather  remaining  pleasant,  Captain  Le  Compte  succeed 
ed,  by  means  of  his  boats,  in  getting  everything  else  of  value 
on  the  island,  and  forthwith  set  about  breaking  up  the  wreck, 
in  order  to  construct  a  craft  that  might  carry  himself  and 
his  people  to  some  civilized  land.  Having  plenty  of  tools, 
and  something  like  sixty  men,  great  progress  had  been  made 
in  the  work,  a  schooner  of  about  ninety  tons  being  then  so 
far  completed,  as  to  be  nearly  ready  to  be  put  in  the  water. 
Such  was  the  state  of  things,  when,  one  fine  night,  we  ar 
rived  in  the  manner  already  related.  The  French  kept 
constant  look-outs,  and  it  seems  we  were  seen,  a  distant 
speck  on  the  ocean,  just  as  the  sun  set,  while  the  low  trees 
of  the  island  eluded  our  vigilance.  By  the  aid  of  a  good 
night-glass,  our  movements  were  watched,  and  a  boat  was 
about  to  be  sent  out  to  warn  us  of  our  danger,  when  we 
passed  within  the  reef.  Captain  Le  Compte  knew  the  chances 
were  twenty  to  one  that  we  were  an  enemy,  and  he  chose  to 
lie  concealed  to  watch  the  result.  As  soon  as  we  had  an 
chored  within  the  basin,  and  silence  prevailed  in  the  ship, 
he  manned  his  own  gig,  and  pulled  with  muffled  oars  up 
under  our  bows,  to  reconnoitre.  Finding  everything  quiet, 
he  ventured  into  the  fore-chains,  and  thence  on  deck,  ac 
companied  by  three  of  his  men.  He  found  Harris,  snoring 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  239 

with  his  back  supported  against  a  gun-carriage,  and  imme 
diately  secured  him.  Then,  it  only  remained  to  close  the 
forescuttle  and  the  cabin-doors,  and  to  fasten  them,  to  have 
us  all  prisoners  below.  The  boat  was  sent  for  more  men, 
and  hours  before  any  of  us  in  the  berths  were  awake,  the 
ship  had  effectually  changed  masters.  Harris  told  our  story, 
and  the  captors  knew  our  whole  history,  from  the  day  of 
sailing  down  to  the  present  time. 

Much  of  this  I  learned  in  subsequent  conversations  with 
the  French,  but  enough  of  it  was  related  to  me  then,  to  let 
me  understand  the  outlines  of  the  truth.  My  eyes  also  let 
me  into  many  secrets.  I  found  the  island,  by  day-light, 
substantially  as  I  had  supposed  it  to  be.  It  was  not  so 
large,  however,  as  it  had  seemed  to  me  by  the  aid  of  the 
moon,  though  its  general  character  was  the  same.  The 
basin  in  which  the  ship  lay  might  have  covered  a  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  in  extent,  the  belt  of  land  which  encircled  it, 
varying  in  breadth  from  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  three  miles. 
Most  of  the  island  was  an  open  grove,  lying  at  an  elevation 
of  from  ten  to  thirty  feet  above  the  ocean ;  and  we  ascer 
tained  there  were  several  springs  of  the  sweetest  water  on 
it.  Nature,  by  one  of  its  secret  processes,  had  covered  the 
earth  with  a  beautiful  short  grass;  and  the  French,  with 
their  usual  attention  to  the  table,  and  their  commendable 
activity,  had  already  several  materials  for  salads,  &c.,  in 
full  growth.  String-beans  might  be  had  for  asking,  and 
petits  pois  were  literally  a  drug.  I  saw  the  tents  of  the 
French,  extending  in  a  line  beneath  the.  shades  of  the  trees  ; 
and  there  was  la  Petite  Pauline  (the  schooner)  on  her  ways, 
actually  undergoing  the  process  of  receiving  her  first  coat 
of  paint.  As  for  la  Pauline,  herself,  I  could  just  discover 
her  lower  mast-heads,  inclining  at  an  angle  of  forty-five 
degrees  from  the  perpendicular,  through  a  vista  in  the  trees. 

There  was  a  good-humoured  common  sense  in  all  the 
proceedings  of  Mons.  Le  Compte,  that  showed  he  was  a 
philosopher  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  He  took  things 
without  repining  himself,  and  wished  to  make  others  as 
happy  as  circumstances  would  allow.  At  his  suggestion,  I 
invited  Marble  on  deck ;  and,  after  making  my  own  com 
mander  acquainted  with  the  state  of  the  facts,  we  both  lis 
tened  to  the  propositions  of  our  captor.  Mons.  Le  Compte, 


240  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE 

all  his  officers,  and  not  a  few  of  his  men,  had  been  prison, 
ers,  some  time  or  other,  in  England,  and  there  was  no  diffi« 
culty  in  carrying  on  the  negotiations  in  our  mother  tongue. 

"  Votre  bailment  —  your  sheep,  shall  become  French  — 
bien  entendu" —  commenced  our  captor  —  "  vid  her  car- 
gaison — rig,  and  tout  cela.  Bien  ;  c'est  convenu.  I  shall 
not  exact  riguevr  in  mes  conditions.  If  you  shall  have 
possible  to  take  your  sheep  from  nous  autres  Franqais — 
d'accord.  Every  man  for  himself  et  sa  nation.  Zere  is 
the  pavillion  Francais  —  and  zere  it  shall  fly,  so  long  as 
we  shall  not  help — mais — parole  d'honneur,  ze  prize  come 
cheep,  and  shall  be  sell  very  dear — entendez  vous  1  Bien. 
Now,  sair,  I  shall  put  you  and  all  your  peepP  on  ze  island, 
vere  you  shall  take  our  place,  while  we  take  your  place. 
Ze  arm  shall  be  in  our  hand,  while  ze  sheep  stay,  but  we 
leave  you  fusils,  poudre  et  tout  cela,  behind.' 

This  was  nearly  verbatim,  the  programme  of  capitulation, 
as  laid  down  by  Captain  Le  Compte.  As  for  Marble,  it  was 
not  in  his  nature  to  acquiesce  in  such  an  arrangement,  with 
out  much  cavilling  and  contention.  But  cui  bono  1  We  were 
in  Mons.  le  Compte's  hands ;  and,  though  disposed  to  deal 
very  handsomely  by  us,  it  was  easy  enough  to  see  he  was 
determined  to  make  his  own  conditions.  I  succeeded,  at 
last,  in  making  Marble  understand  that  resistance  was  use 
less;  and  he  submitted,  though  with  some  such  grace  as  a 
man,  who  has  not  been  mesmerized,  submits  to  an  amputa 
tion —  those  who  have,  are  said  rather  to  delight  in  the 
amusement. 

The  terms  of  the  capitulation — and  they  differed  but  little 
from  surrendering  at  discretion: — were  no  sooner  agreed  to, 
than  our  people  were  ordered  into  the  forecastle,  whence 
they  were  transferred  to  the  boats,  in  readiness  to  be  sent 
ashore.  All  the  chests,  and  private  effects,  were  moved  out, 
in  the  most  honourable  manner,  and  sent  into  la  Pauline's 
boats,  which  lay  prepared  to  receive  them.  As  for  us 
officers,  we  were  put  in  the  gig,  Neb  and  the  cabin  steward 
being  charged  with  the  duty  of  Jooking  after  our  private 
property.  When  everybody,  the  blacks  excepted,  was  in 
a  boat,  we  shoved  off,  and  proceeded  towards  the  landing, 
as  chop-fallen  and  melancholy  a  party  as  ever  took  posses 
sion  of  a  newly-discovered  country.  Marble  affected  to 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  241 

whistle,  for  he  was  secretly  furious  at  the  nonchalance 
manifested  by  Captain  Le  Compte ;  but  I  detected  him  in 
getting  parts  of  Monny  Musk  and  the  Irish  Washerwoman, 
into  the  same  strain.  To  own  the  truth,  the  ex-mate  was 
morally  much  disturbed.  As  for  myself,  I  considered  the 
affair  as  an  incident  of  war,  and  cared  much  less. 

"  Voila,  messieurs"  exclaimed  Monsieur  Le  Compte, 
flourishing  his  arm,  with  an  air  of  unsurpassed  generosity  ; 
"  you  shall  be  master  here,  so  soon  after  we  shall  go  away, 
and  take  our  leetl'  property  wid  us  !" 

"  He  'a  d d  generous,  Miles,"  growled  Marble,  in  my 

ear.  "  He  '11  leave  us  the  island,  and  the  reef,  and  the 
cocoa-nuts,  when  he  has  gone  off  with  our  ship,  and  her 
cargo.  I  '11  bet  all  I  'm  worth,  he  tows  off  his  bloody 
schooner,  in  the  bargain." 

"  There  is  no  use  in  complaining,  sir ;  and  by  keeping  on 
good  terms  with  the  French,  we  may  fare  the  better." 

The  truth  of  this  was  soon  apparent.  Captain  Le  Compte 
mvitea  us  all  to  share  his  breakfast,  and  we  repaired  to  the 
tent  of  the  French  officers,  with  that  purpose.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  French  sailors  were  transferring  the  few  articles 
they  intended  to  carry  away,  to  the  ship,  with  the  generous 
object  of  leaving  their  own  tents  to  the  immediate  occupation 
of  us  prisoners.  As  Monsieur  Le  Compte's  plan  was  to  pro 
ceed  to  the  Spanish  Main,  in  order  to  complete  his  contem 
plated  traffic  in  that  quarter,  no  sooner  were  the  tents  pre 
pared,  than  the  French  began  also  to  ship  such  articles  of 
their  own,  as  it  had  originally  been  proposed  to  exchan^ 
for  Spanish  dollars.  In  the  mean  time,  we  sat  down  to 
breakfast. 

"  C'est  la  fortune  de  guerre  !  —  vat  you  call  fortune  of 
war,  messieurs"  observed  Captain  Le  Compte,  whirling  the 
stick  in  a  vessel  of  chocolate,  in  a  very  artistical  manner, 
all  the  while.  "  Bon — c*est  excellente — Antoin — " 

Antoin  appeared  in  the  shape  of  a  well-smoked,  copper- 
coloured  cabin-boy.  He  was  told  to  take  a  small  pitcher 
of  the  chocolate,  with  Captain  Le  Compte's  compliments  to 
mademoiselle,  and  to  tell  her  there  was  now  every  prospect 
of  their  quitting  the  island  in  a  very  few  days,  and  of  seeing 
la  belle  France,  in  the  course  of  the  next  four  or  five 
months.  This  was  said  in  French,  and  rapidly,  with  the 
21 


242  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

vehemence  of  one  who  felt  all  he  uttered,  and  more  too  5 
but  I  knew  enough  of  the  language  to  understand  its  drift. 

"  I  suppose  the  fellow  is  generalizing  on  our  misfortunes, 

in  his  d d  lingo,"  growled  Marble  ;  "  but,  let  him  look 

out — he  's  not  home  yet,  by  many  a  thousand  miles !" 

I  endeavoured  to  explain  it  all  to  Marble ;  but  it  was  use 
less  ;  he  insisted  the  Frenchman  was  sending  chocolate  from 
his  own  table,  to  his  crew,  in  order  to  play  the  magnifico, 
on  the  score  of  his  own  good  luck.  There  was  no  use  in 
"  kicking  against  the  pricks,"  and  I  let  Marble  enjoy  the 
pleasure  of  believing  the  worst  of  his  captor ;  a  sort  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  propensity,  that  has  garnished  many  a  page  in  Eng 
lish  and  American  history — to  say  nothing  of  the  propensi 
ties  and  histories  of  others,  among  the  great  family  of 
nations. 

When  breakfast  was  over,  Monsieur  Le  Compte  led  me 
aside,  in  a  walk  under  the  trees,  to  explain  his  views  and 
intentions.  He  gave  me  to  understand  I  had  been  selected 
for  this  communication,  on  account  of  his  observing  the 
state  of  mind  of  my  captain.  I  also  comprehended  a  little 
French,  which  was  quite  convenient  in  a  conversation  with 
one  who  interlarded  his  English  so  much  with  phrases  taken 
from  his  mother  tongue.  I  was  given  to  understand  that 
the  French  would  put  the  schooner  into  the  water  that  very 
evening,  and  that  we  should  find  her  masts,  rigging,  and 
sails  all  fitted  for  her.  With  activity,  she  could  be  ready 
to  quit  the  island  in  a  fortnight,  at  the  farthest.  A  portion 
of  our  own  provisions  would  be  landed,  as  better  suited  to 
our  habits  than  those  which  had  been  taken  from  la  Pauline ; 
while  a  portion  of  the  last  would  be  transferred  to  the  Crisis, 
for  the  same  reason,  as  applied  to  the  French.  As  for 
water-casks,  &c.,  they  were  all  arranged  ;  everything  of 
the  sort  having  been  taken  from  the  wreck,  with  little  or 
no  difficulty,  immediately  after  the  loss  of  the  ship.  In  a 
word,  we  should  have  little  more  to  do,  than  to  step  the 
masts,  rig  our  craft,  stow  her  hold,  and  proceed  at  once 
to  the  nearest  friendly  port. 

"  I  zink  you  shall  go  to  Canton,"  added  Monsieur  Le 
Compte.  "  Ze  distance  shall  not  be  much  more  than  to 
Sout'  America ;  and  zere  you  shall  find  plenty  of  your 
compatriotes.  Of  course,  you  can  sleep  and  go  chen 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  243 

vat  you  call  «  home,'  with  toute  la  facilite.  Oui  —  cet 
arrangement  est  admirable" 

So  the  arrangement  might  appear  to  him,  though  I  con 
fess  to  a  decided  preference  to  remaining  in  the  "  blind  Cri 
sis,"  as  our  men  had  got  to  call  her,  after  her  blundering 
through  the  Straits  of  Magellan. 

"  Allans  /"  exclaimed  the  French  captain,  suddenly.  "  We 
are  near  ze  tent  of  Mademoiselle — we  shall  go  and  demand 
how  she  carry  herself  ce  beau  matin!" 

On  looking  up,  I  saw  two  small  tents  within  fifty  yards 
of  us.  They  were  beautifully  placed,  in  the  midst  of  a 
thicker  portion  of  the  grove  than  usual,  and  near  a  spring 
of  the  most  exquisitely  limpid  water  I  ever  beheld.  These 
tents  were  made  of  new  canvass,  and  had  been  fashioned 
with  care  and  skill.  I  could  see  that  the  one  we  first  ap 
proached  was  carpeted  over,  and  that  it  had  many  of  the 
appliances  of  a  comfortable  abode.  Mons.  Le  Compte,  who 
was  really  a  good-looking  fellow  under  forty,  put  on  his 
most  amiable  appearance  as  he  got  near  the  canvass-door ; 
and  he  hemmed  once  or  twice,  as  respectfully  as  he  could, 
by  way  of  letting  his  presence  be  known.  In  an  instant,  a 
maid-servant  came  out  to  receive  him.  The  moment  I  laid 
eyes  on  this  woman,  it  struck  me  her  face  was  familiar, 
though  I  could  not  recall  the  place,  or  time,  where,  or  when, 
we  had  before  met.  The  occurrence  was  so  singular,  that 
I  was  still  ruminating  on  it,  when  I  unexpectedly  found  my 
self  standing  in  the  tent,  face  to  face  with  Emily  Merton  and 
her  father ! 

We  recognised  each  other  at  a  glance,  and,  to  Mons.  Le 
Compte's  amazement,  hearty  greetings  passed  between  us,  as 
old  acquaintances.  Old  acquaintances,  however,  we  could 
scarce  be  called ;  but,  on  an  uninhabited  island  in  the  South 
Seas,  one  is  glad  to  meet  any  face  that  he  has  ever  met  be 
fore.  Emily  looked  less  blooming  than  when  we  had  part 
ed,  near  a  twelvemonth  before,  in  London  ;  but  she  was  still 
pretty  and  pleasing.  Both  she  and  her  father  were  in 
mourning,  and,  the  mother  not  appearing,  I  at  once  guessed 
the  truth.  Mrs.  Merton  was  an  invalid  when  I  knew  her, 
though  I  had  not  anticipated  for  her  so  speedy  a  death. 

I  thought  Captain  Le  Compte  appeared  vexed  at  rny  recep 
tion.  Still,  he  did  not  forget  his  good  manners ;  and  he 


244  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

rose,  saying  he  would  leave  me  with  my  friends  to  make 
mutual  explanations,  while  he  proceeded  to  overlook  the 
duty  of  the  day.  On  taking  his  leave,  I  was  not  pleased  to 
see  him  approach  and  kiss  Emily's  hand.  The  act  was 
done  respectfully,  and  not  entirely  without  grace ;  but  there 
were  a  feeling  and  manner  in  it  that  could  not  well  be  mis 
taken.  Emily  blushed,  as  she  wished  him  good  morning, 
and  turning  to  look  at  me,  in  spite  of  a  kind  of  dog-in-the- 
manger  sensation,  I  could  not  forbear  smiling. 

"  Never,  Mr.  Wallingford,  never !"  Emily  said,  with  em 
phasis,  the  instant  her  admirer  was  out  of  hearing.  "  We 
are  at  his  mercy,  and  must  keep  terms  with  him ;  but  I  can 
never  marry  a  foreigner." 

"  That  is  poor  encouragement  for  Wallingford,  my  dear," 
said  her  father,  laughing,  "  should  he  happen  to  take  a  fancy 
to  you  himself." 

Emily  looked  confused,  but,  what,  for  the  circumstances, 
was  better  still,  she  looked  concerned. 

"  I  am  sure,  dear  sir,"  she  answered,  with  a  quickness  I 
thought  charming,  "  I  am  sure  Mr.  Wallingford  will  not 
suppose  I  meant  anything  so  rude.  Then,  he  is  no  impor 
tunate  suitor  of  mine,  like  this  disagreeable  Frenchman,  who 
always  seems  to  me  more  like  a  Turkish  master,  than  like 
one  who  really  respects  a  woman.  Besides " 

"Besides  what,  Miss  Merton?"  I  ventured -to  ask,  per 
ceiving  that  she  hesitated. 

"  Besides,  Americans  are  hardly  foreigners  to  us"  added 
Emily,  smiling  ;  "  for  we  have  even  American  relatives,  you 
know,  father." 

"  Quite  true,  my  dear,  and  came  near  being  Americans 
ourselves.  Had  my  father  established  himself  where  he 
married,  as  had  been  his  first  intention,  such  would  have 
been  our  national  character.  But,  Mons.  Le  Compte  has 
given  us  a  moment  to  tell  our  stories  to  each  other,  and  I 
think  it  will  not  be  a  very  long  moment.  Let  one  of  us 
commence,  if  we  wish  the  offices  done  without  unpleasant 
listeners." 

Emily  urged  me  to  begin,  and  I  did  not  hesitate.  My 
story  was  soon  told.  Major  Merton  and  his  daughter  un 
derstood  all  about  the  capture  of  the  ship  in  the  basin,  though 
they  were  ignorant  of  the  vessel's  name.  I  had  only  to 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  245 

relate  our  voyage  on  the  main,  and  the  death  of  Captain 
Williams,  therefore,  to  have  my  whole  story  told.  I  made  it 
all  the  shorter,  from  an  impatience  to  hear  the  circumstances 
which  had  thrown  my  friends  into  their  present  extraordi 
nary  position. 

"  It  seems  extraordinary  enough,  beyond  doubt,"  Major 
Merton  began,  the  moment  I  left  him  an  opening  by  my 
closing  remark,  "  but  it  is  all  very  simple,  when  you  com 
mence  at  the  right  end  of  the  sad  story,  and  follow  events  in 
the  order  in  which  they  occurred." 

"  When  you  left  us  in  London,  Wallingford,  I  supposed 
we  were  on  the  point  of  sailing  for  the  West  Indies,  but  a 
better  appointment  soon  after  offering  in  the  East,  my  des 
tination  was  changed  to  Bombay.  It  was  important  that  I 
should  reach  my  port  at  as  early  a  day  as  possible ;  and,  no 
regular  Indiaman  being  ready,  I  took  passage  in  a  licensed 
running  vessel,  a  ship  of  no  size,  or  force.  Nothing  occur 
red  until  we  had  got  within  three  or  four  days'  sail  of  our 
port,  when  we  fell  in  with  la  Pauline,  and  were  captured. 
At  first,  I  think  Captain  Le  Compte  would  have  been  willing 
to  let  me  go  on  parole,  but  no  opportunity  offered,  and  we 
went  with  the  ship  to  Manilla.  While  there,  the  melancholy 
loss  happened,  which,  no  doubt,  you  have  comprehended 
from  our  mourning;  and  I  was  strongly  in  hopes  of  making 
some  arrangements  that  would  still  enable  me  to  save  my 
situation.  But,  by  this  time,  Monsieur  Le  Compte  had  be 
come  an  open  admirer  of  Emily,  and  I  suppose  it  is  hope 
less  to  expect  any  liberation,  so  long  as  he  can  invent  ex 
cuses  to  frustrate  it." 

"  I  trust  he  does  not  abuse  his  power,  in  any  way,  and 
annoy  Miss  Merton  with  importunities  that  are  unpleasant 
to  her." 

Emily  rewarded  me  for  the  warmth  with  which  I  spoke, 
with  a  sweet  smile  and  a  slight  blush. 

"  Of  that  I  cannot  accuse  him,  in  one  sense  at  least,"  re 
sumed  Major  Merton.  "  Mons.  Le  Compte  does  all  for  us 
that  his  sense  of  delicacy  can  suggest ;  and  it  was  not  possi 
ble  for  passengers  to  be  more  comfortable,  or  retired,  on 
board  ship,  than  we  were  in  the  Pauline.  That  vessel  had 
a  poop,  and  its  cabin  was  p»ven  up  entirely  to  our  use.  At 
Manilla,  I  was  permitted  to  go  at  large,  on  a  mere  verbal 
21  * 


246  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

assurance  of  returning;  and,  in  all  other  particulars,  we  have 
been  treated  as  well  as  circumstances  would  very  well  allow. 
Nevertheless,  Emily  is  too  young  to  admire  a  suitor  of 
forty,  too  English  to  admire  a  foreigner,  and  too  well-born 
to  accept  one  who  is  merely  a  merchant  sailor — I  mean  one 
who  is  nothing,  and  has  nothing,  but  what  his  ship  makes 
him,  or  can  give  him." 

I  understood  Major  Merton's  distinction ;  he  saw  a  differ 
ence  between  the  heir  of  Clawbonny,  pursuing  his  adven 
tures  for  the  love  of  the  sea,  and  a  man  who  pursued  the 
sea  as  an  adventurer.  It  was  not  very  delicately  made,  but 
it  was  pretty  well,  as  coming  from  an  European  to  an 
American  ;  the  latter  being  assumed  ex  gratia,  to  be  a  being 
of  an  inferior  order,  morally,  politically,  physically,  socially, 
and  in  every  other  sense,  but  the  pecuniary.  Thank  Hea 
ven  !  the  American  dollar  is  admitted,  pennyweight  for 
pennyweight,  to  a  precedency  immediately  next  to  that  of 
the  metal  dollar  of  Europe.  It  even  goes  before  the  paper 
thaler  of  Prussia. 

"  I  can  readily  imagine  Miss  Merton  would  look  higher 
than  Captain  Le  Compte,  for  various  reasons,"  I  answered, 
making  a  sort  of  acknowledgment  for  the  distinction  in  my 
favour,  by  bowing  involuntarily,  "  and  I  should  hope  that 
gentleman  would  cease  to  be  importunate  as  soon  as  con 
vinced  he  cannot  succeed." 

"  You  do  not  know  a  Frenchman,  Mr.  Wallingford,"  re 
joined  Emily.  "  He  is  the  hardest  creature  on  earth  to  per 
suade  into  the  notion  that  he  is  not  adorable." 

"  I  can  hardly  believe  that  this  weakness  extends  as  far 
as  the  sailors,"  said  I,  laughing.  "  At  all  events,  you  will 
be  released  the  instant  you  reach  France." 

"  Sooner  too,  I  trust,  Wallingford,"  resumed  the  father. 
"  These  Frenchmen  can  have  it  their  own  way,  out  here  in 
the  solitude  of  the  Pacific ;  but,  once  in  the  Atlantic,  I  shall 
expect  some  British  cruiser  to  pick  us  up,  long  ere  we  can 
reach  France." 

This  was  a  reasonable  expectation,  and  we  conversed 
about  it  for  some  time.  I  shall  not  repeat  all  that  passed ; 
but  the  reader  can  have  no  difficulty  in  understanding,  that 
Major  Merton  and  myself  communicated  to  each  other  every 
fact  that  was  likely  to  be  of  interest  to  men  in  our  situation. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  247 

When  I  thought  it  prudent  to  take  my  leave,  he  walked  some 
distance  with  me,  holding  his  way  to  a  point  on  the  outer 
side  of  the  island,  where  I  could  get  a  view  of  the  wreck. 
Here  he  left  me,  for  the  moment,  while  I  proceeded  along  the 
beach,  ruminating  on  all  that  had  passed. 

The  process  by  which  nature  uses  her  materials  to  found 
islands  in  the  midst  of  oceans  like  the  Pacific,  is  a  curious 
study.  The  insect  that  forms  the  coral  rock,  must  be  an 
industrious  little  creature,  as  there  is  reason  to  think  that 
some  of  the  reefs  that  have  become  known  to  navigators 
within  the  last  sixty  or  seventy  years,  have  since  been  con- 
verted  into  islands  bearing  trees,  by  their  labours.  Should 
the  work  go  on,  a  part  of  this  vast  sea  will  yet  be  con 
verted  into  a  continent ;  and,  who  knows  but  a  railroad 
may  yet  run  across  that  portion  of  our  globe,  connecting 
America  with  the  old  world  1  I  see  that  Captain  Beechy,  in 
his  voyage,  speaks  of  a  wreck  that  occurred  in  1792,  on  a 
reef,  where,  in  1826,  he  found  an  island  near  three  leagues 
long,  bearing  tall  trees.  It  would  be  a  curious  calculation 
to  ascertain,  if  one  family  of  insects  can  make  an  island 
three  leagues  long,  in  thirty-four  years,  how  many  families 
it  would  take  to  make  the  grading  of  the  railroad  I  have 
mentioned.  Ten  years  since,  I  would  not  have  ventured  a 
hint  of  this  nature,  for  it  might  have  set  speculation  in  mo 
tion,  and  been  the  instrument  of  robbing  more  widows  and 
orphans  of  their  straitened  means  ;  but,  Heaven  be  praised ! 
we  have  at  length  reached  a  period  in  the  history  of  the 
country,  when  a  man  may  venture  on  a  speculation  in  the 
theory  of  geography  without  incurring  the  risk  of  giving 
birth  to  some  wild — if  not  unprincipled — speculation  in  dol 
lars  and  cents. 

As  I  drew  near  the  outer  shore  of  the  island,  opposite  to 
the  wreck,  I  came  unexpectedly  on  Marble.  The  poor  fel 
low  was  seated  on  a  raised  projection  of  coral  rock,  with 
his  arms  folded,  and  was  in  so  thorough  a  brown  study,  that 
he  did  not  even  hear  my  footsteps  in  approaching,  though  I 
purposely  trod  heavily,  in  order  to  catch  his  ear.  Unwill 
ing  to  disturb  him,  I  stood  gazing  at  the  wreck  myself,  for 
some  little  time,  the  place  affording  a  much  better  view  of 
it  than  any  other  point  from  which  it  had  met  my  eye.  The 
French  had  made  far  greater  inroads  upon  their  vessel,  than 


24S  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

the  elements.  She  had  struck  to  leeward  of  the  island,  and 
lay  in  a  spot  where,  indeed,  it  might  take  years  to  break  her 
entirely  up,  in  that  placid  sea.  Most  of  her  upper  works, 
however,  were  gone;  and  I  subsequently  discovered  that 
her  own  carpenters  had  managed  to  get  out  even  a  portion 
of  her  floor-timbers,  leaving  the  fabric  bound  together  by 
those  they  left.  Her  lower  masts  were  standing,  but  even 
her  lower  yards  had  been  worked  up,  in  order  to  mako 
something  useful  for  the  schooner.  The  beach,  at  no  great 
distance,  was  still  strewed  with  objects  brought  from  the 
reef,  and  which  it  had  not  yet  been  found  necessary  to  use. 

At  length  a  movement  of  mine  attracted  Marble's  atten 
tion,  and  he  turned  his  head  towards  me.  He  seemed  glad 
I  had  joined  him,  and  expressed  himself  happy,  also,  that  he 
saw  me  alone. 

"I  have  been  generalizing  a  little  on  our  condition, 
Miles,"  he  said,  "  and  look  at  it  which  end  forward  I  may, 
I  find  it  bad  enough ;  almost  enough  to  overcome  me.  I 
loved  that  ship,  Mr.  Wallingford,  as  much  as  some  folks 
love  their  parents — of  wife  or  children,  I  never  had  any— 
and  the  thought  that  she  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  a 
Frenchman,  is  too  much  for  my  natur'.  Had  it  been 
Smudge,  I  could  have  borne  up  against  it;  but,  to  haul 
down  one's  colours  to  a  wrack,  and  a  bloody  French  wrack, 
too,  it  is  superhuman !" 

"You  must  remember  all  the  circumstances,  Captain 
Marble,  and  you  will  find  consolation.  The  ship  was  sur 
prised,  as  we  surprised  the  Lady  of  Nantes." 

"  That 's  just  it — put  that  on  a  general  principle,  now,  and 
where  are  you?  Surprisers  mustn't  be  surprised.  Had  wo 
set  a  quarter-watch,  sir,  it  never  could  have  happened  ;  and 
nothing  less  than  a  quarter-watch  should  have  been  set  in 
a  strange  haven.  What  mattered  it,  that  it  was  an  unin 
habited  island,  and  that  the  ship  was  land-locked  and  well- 
moored,  and  the  holding-ground  was  capital  ?  It  is  all  of 
no  account  when  you  come  to  look  at  the  affair  in  the  way 
of  duty.  Why,  old  Robbins,  with  his  rivers  in  the  ocean, 
would  never  have  been  caught  in  this  miserable  manner." 

Then  Marble  fairly  gave  in,  placed  his  two  hard  hands 
on  his  face,  and  I  could  see  tears  trickling  from  beneath 
them,  as  if  water  were  squeezed  from  a  stone. 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  249 

"  The  chances  of  the  sea,  Captain  Marble,"  I  said,  greatly 
shocked  at  such  an  exhibition,  coming  from  such  a  quarter 
—  "  the  chances  of  the  sea  are  sometimes  too  much  for  the 
best  sailors.  We  should  look  at  this  loss,  as  we  look  at  the 
losses  occasioned  by  a  gale — then  there  is  some  hope  left, 
after  all." 

"  I  should  like  to  know  what  —  to  me,  there  is  no  land 
ahead." 

"  Surprisers  may  not  only  be  surprised,  but  they  may 
carry  on  their  old  trade  again,  and  surprise  once  more,  in 
their  turn." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that,  Miles,"  said  Marble,  look 
ing  up  eagerly,  and  speaking  as  quick  as  lightning ;  "  are 
you  generalizing,  or  have  you  any  particular  project  in 
view  T" 

"  Both,  Sir.  Generalizing,  so  far  as  taking  the  chances 
of  war  are  concerned,  and  particularizing,  as  to  a  certain 
notion  that  has  come  into  my  head." 

"  Out  with  the  last,  Miles  —  out  with  it,  boy ;  the  Lord 
made  you  for  something  uncommon." 

"  First,  let  me  know,  Captain  Marble,  whether  you  have 
had  any  further  conversation  with  Monsieur  Le  Compte? 
whether  he  has  said  any  more  on  the  subject  of  our  future 
proceedings  ?" 

"  I  just  left  the  grinning  rascal — these  amiable  smiles  of 
his,  Miles,  are  only  so  many  grins  thrown  into  our  faces  to 
let  us  feel  his  good  luck  ;  but,  d — n  him,  if  I  ever  get  home, 
1  '11  fit  out  a  privateer  and  be  after  him,  if  there  's  a  fast-go 
ing  schooner  to  be  had  in  all  America  for  love  or  money.  I 
think  I  'd  turn  pirate,  to  catch  the  villain !" 

Alas !  poor  Marble.  Little  would  he,  who  never  got 
higher  than  a  mate,  unless  by  accident,  be  likely  to  persuade 
your  cautious  ship-owners  to  intrust  him  with  a  vessel  of 
any  sort,  to  go  tilting  against  wind-mills  afloat,  in  that 
fashion. 

"  But,  why  go  to  America  for  a  schooner,  Captain  Marble, 
when  the  French  are  polite  enough  to  give  us  one  here,  ex 
actly  where  we  are  ?" 

"  I  begia  to  understand  you,  boy.  There  is  a  little  con- 
eolation  in  the  idee,  but  this  Frenchman  has  already  got  my 


250  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

commission,  and  without  the  document  we  should  bo  no 
better  than  so  many  pirates." 

"  I  doubt  that,  sir,  even  were  a  ship  to  act  generally,  pro 
vided  she  actually  sailed  with  a  commission,  and  lost  it  by 
accident.  Commissions  are  all  registered,  and  proof  of  our 
character  could  be  found  at  home." 

"  Ay,  for  the  Crisis,  but  not  for  this  «  Pretty  Polly'  —  for 
so  Marble  translated  Petite  Pauline  —  "The  commission  is 
only  good  for  the  vessel  that  is  named  in  it." 

"  I  don't  know  that,  Captain  Marble.  Suppose  our  ship 
had  been  sunk  in  an  action  in  which  we  took  our  enemy, 
could  we  not  continue  our  voyage  in  the  prize,  and  fight 
anything  that  came  in  our  way,  afterwards  ?"  * 

"  By  George,  that  does  look  reasonable.  Here  was  I  just 
threatening  to  go  out  as  a  pirate,  yet  hesitating  about 
taking  my  own."  . 

"  Do  not  the  crews  of  captured  vessels  often  rise  upon 
their  captors,  and  recapture  their  own  vessels?  and  were  any 
of  them  ever  called  pirates  ?  Besides,  nations  at  war  autho 
rise  almost  every  sort  of  hostile  act  against  their  enemies." 

"  Miles,  I  have  been  mistaken — you  are  a  good  seaman, 
but  natur'  meant  you  for  a  lawyer !  Give  me  your  hand, 
boy ;  I  see  a  gleam  of  hope  ahead,  and  a  man  can  live  on 
less  hope  than  food." 

Marble  then  told  me  the  substance  of  the  conversation  he 
had  held  with  Captain  Le  Compte.  The  latter  had  expressed 
a  sudden  and  violent  impatience  to  be  off —  I  understood  the 
cause  in  a  moment ;  he  wished  to  separate  Emily  from  her 
old  acquaintance,  as  soon  as  possible  —  intending  to  put  the 
schooner  into  the  water  for  us,  that  *<3ry  afternoon,  and  to 
sail  himself  in  the  morning.  This  was  a  sudden  resolution, 
and  the  French  were  moving  heaven  and  earth  to  carry  it 
into  effect.  I  confess  to  some  little  regret  at  hearing  it,  for 
it  was  pleasant  to  meet  the  Mertons  in  that  unexpected 
manner,  and  the  influence  of  woman  in  such  a  solitude  is 
unusually  great.  I  now  told  Marble  of  my  discovery,  and 
when  he  had  got  through  with  his  expressions  of  wonder,  I 
carried  him  to  the  tents,  and  led  him  into  the  presence  of  his 
old  acquaintances.  In  consequence  of  this  visit,  I  enjoyed 
another  half  hour's  t£te  a  tctc  with  Emily,  Marble  soon 
taking  the  Major  to  walk  with  him,  beneath  the  trees. 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  251 

We  were  both  recalled  to  a  sense  of  our  real  situation,  by 
the  reappearance  of  Monsieur  Le  Compte.  I  cannot  say  that 
our  conqueror  behaved  in  the  least  unhandsomely  towards 
us,  notwithstanding  his  evident  jealousy.  He  had  the  tact  to 
conceal  most  of  his  feelings,  and  owing  either  to  liberality 
or  to  art,  he  assumed  an  air  of  generous  confidence,  that 
would  be  much  more  likely  to  touch  the  feelings  of  the  maid 
he  sought,  than  any  acts  of  severity.  First  asking  permis 
sion  of  Miss  Merton,  he  even  invited  us,  and  himself,  to  dine 
with  the  Major,  and,  on  the  whole,  we  had  an  agreeable  en 
tertainment.  We  had  turtle  and  champaigne,  and  both  of  a 
quality  that  was  then  out  of  the  reach  of  all  the  aldermen 
of  London  or  New  York ;  begging  pardon  of  the  Sir  Peters 
and  Sir  Johns  of  Guildhall,  for  putting  them,  in  any  sense, 
on  a  level  with  the  "  gentleman  from  the  Fourth  Ward"  or 
"  the  gentleman  from  the  Eleventh  Ward ;"  though,  if  the 
truth  must  be  told,  the  last  very  often  eat  the  best  dinners, 
and  drink,  out  of  all  comparison,  the  best  wines.  Who 
pays,  is  a  fact  buried  in  the  arcana  of  aldermanic  legerde 
main.  It  was  late  before  we  left  the  table,  though  Mon 
sieur  Le  Compte  quitted  us  early. 

At  five  o'clock  precisely  we  were  summoned  to  witness 
the  launch.  Champaigne  and  claret  had  brought  Marble 
into  good  humour,  nor  was  I  at  all  out  of  spirits,  myself. 
Emily  put  on  her  hat,  and  took  her  parasol,  just  as  she 
would  have  done  at  home,  and  accepting  my  arm,  she  walk 
ed  to  the  ship-yard,  like  all  the  rest  of  us.  Getting  her  a 
good  place  for  the  sight,  I  accompanied  Marble  to  take  a 
look  at  the  "  Pretty  Poll,"  which  had  not  as  yet  attracted  as 
much  of  our  attention  as  she  ought.  I  had  suggested  to  him 
the  probability  of  an  occasion  offering  to  rise  upon  the 
Frenchman,  while  their  attention  was  taken  up  with  the 
schooner ;  but  Monsieur  Le  Compte  warily  kept  quite  half  his 
men  in  the  ship,  and  this  put  the  attempt  out  of  the  question, 
since  the  guns  of  the  Crisis  would  have  swept  any  part  of 
the  island. 

The  French  mechanics  deserved  great  credit  for  the  skill 
they  had  manifested  in  the  construction  of  La  Petite  Pau 
line.  She  was  not  only  a  safe  and  commodious  craft  for  her 
size,  but,  what  was  of  great  importance  to  us,  her  lines  pro 
mised  that  she  would  turn  out  to  be  a  fast  sailer.  I  after- 


252  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

wards  ascertained  that  Captain  Le  Compte  had  been  her 
draftsman,  possessing  not  only  much  taste  for,  but  a  good 
deal  of  practice  in,  the  art.  The  ship  in  which  the  Merton's 
had  taken  passage  to  Bombay,  had  the  copper  for  a  teak- 
built  frigate  and  sloop  of  war  in  her,  and  this  had  been 
transferred,  among  other  articles,  to  la  Pauline,  before  the 
prize  was  burned.  Availing  himself  of  this  circumstance, 
Monsieur  Le  Compte  had  actually  coppered  his  schooner, 
and  otherwise  he  had  made  her  as  neat  and  commodious  as 
possible.  I  make  no  doubt  he  intended  to  surprise  his  friends 
at  Marseilles,  by  showing  what  clever  mariners,  wrecked  on 
an  island  of  the  Pacific,  could  do,  on  an  emergency.  Then, 
doubtless,  he  found  it  pleasant  to  linger  on  this  island,  eating 
fresh  cocoa-nuts,  with  delicious  turtle,  and  making  love  to 
Emily  Merton.  Some  of  the  charms  of  "  Pretty  Poll"  were 
fairly  to  be  attributed  to  the  charms  of  the  young  lady. 

The  men  began  to  wedge  up,  the  moment  we  were  all  pre 
sent,  and  this  portion  of  the  labour  was  soon  completed. 
Monsieur  Le  Compte  then  took  his  station  in  the  head  of  the 
schooner.  Making  a  profound  bow  to  Emily,  as  if  to  ask 
her  permission,  the  signal  was  given ;  the  spur-shores  were 
knocked  away,  and  the  little  craft  slid  off  into  the  water  so 
easily,  making  so  little  ripple  as  she  shot  a  hundred  fathoms 
into  the  bay,  as  to  give  the  assurance  she  would  prove  a 
fast  vessel.  Just  as  she  was  water-borne,  Le  Compte  dashed 
a  bottle  against  the  tiller,  and  shouted,  at  the  top  of  his  voice, 
"  succes  a  la  Belle  Emelie." 

I  turned  to  Emily,  and  saw  by  the  blush  that  she  under 
stood  French,  while  the  manner  in  which  she  pouted  her 
pretty  plump  lip  betrayed  the  humour  in  which  the  com 
pliment  had  been  received. 

In  a  few  minutes,  Captain  Le  Compte  landed,  and,  in  a  se* 
speech,  he  gave  up  the  schooner  to  our  possession.  We 
were  told  not  to  consider  ourselves  as  prisoners,  our  captain 
handsomely  admitting  that  he  had  gained  no  laurels  by  his 
victory. 

"  We  shall  go  away  good  friend,"  he  concluded,  "  mais, 
suppose  we  shall  meet,  and  nos  dux  republique  shall  not  be 
at  peace,  then  each  must  fight  for  son  pavillion  /" 

This  was  a  good  concluding  sentiment,  for  such  a  scene. 
Immediately  after  the  Mertons  and  their  domestics,  of  whom 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  253 

there  were  a  man  and  a  woman,  embarked,  I  took  leave  of 
them  on  the  beach,  and,  either  my  observation,  or  my  vanity, 
induced  me  to  think  Emily  got  into  the  boat  with  reluctance. 
Many  good  wishes  were  exchanged,  and  the  Major  called 
out  to  us,  "  we  shall  meet  again,  gentlemen — there  has  been 
a  Providence  in  our  previous  intercourse.  Adieu,  until 
then." 

The  French  were  now  in  a  great  bustle.  Most  of  the  ar 
ticles  they  intended  to  carry  away  were  already  on  board 
the  ship  ;  and,  by  the  time  it  was  dusk,  they  had  closed  their 
communication  with  the  land.  When  Captain  Le  Compte 
took  his  leave  of  us,  I  could  not  but  thank  him  for  his  many 
civilities.  He  had  certainly  dealt  generously  by  us,  though 
I  still  think  his  sudden  departure,  which  made  us  fall  heirs 
to  many  things  we  otherwise  might  not  have  so  done,  was 
owing  to  his  wish  to  remove  Emily  Merton,  as  quickly  as 
possible,  from  my  sight. 

At  daylight  next  morning,  Neb  came  to  the  officers'  tents 
to  say  the  ship  was  getting  her  anchors.  I  was  up  and 
dressed  in  a  moment.  The  distance  to  the  inlet  was  about  a 
mile,  and  I  reached  it,  just  as  the  Crisis  was  cast.  In  a  few 
minutes  she  came  sweeping  into  the  narrow  pass,  under  her 
topsails,  and  1  saw  Emily  and  her  father,  leaning  over  the 
hammock-cloths  of  the  quarter-deck.  The  beautiful  girl 
was  so  near,  that  I  could  read  the  expression  of  her  soft 
eyes,  and  I  fancied  they  were  filled  with  gentle  concern. 
The  Major  called  out,  "  God  bless  you,  dear  Wallingford" — 
then  the  ship  swept  past,  and  was  soon  in  the  outer  bay. 
Half  an  hour  later,  or  before  I  left  the  spot,  sho  was  at  sea, 
inder  everything  that  would  draw  from  her  tru  :\i  down. 
22 


254  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 


CHAPTER  XYIL 

M  I  better  brook  the  loss  of  brittle  life, 
Than  those  proud  titles  thou  hast  won  of  me ; 
They  wound  my  thoughts,  worse  than  thy  sword  my  flesh.*' 

SHAKSFEARX. 

HALF-WAY  between  this  inlet  and  the  ship-yard,  I  found 
Marble,  standing  with  his  arms  folded,  gazing  after  the  re 
ceding  ship.  His  countenance  was  no  longer  saddened ; 
but  it  was  fierce.  He  shook  his  hand  menacingly  at  the 
French  ensign,  which  was  flying  at  our  old  gaff,  and  said— 

"  Ay,  d n  you,  flutter  away  ;  you  quiver  and  shake 

now  like  one  of  your  coxcombs  pigeon-winging ;  but  where 
will  you  be  this  day  two  months  ?  Miles,  no  man  but  a 
bloody  Frenchman  would  cast  away  a  ship,  there  where  this 
Mister  Count  has  left  the  bones  of  his  vessel ;  though  here, 
where  we  came  so  nigh  going,  it  Js  a  miracle  any  man  could 
escape.  Hadn't  we  brought  the  Crisis  through  that  opening 
first,  he  never  would  have  dared  to  go  out  by  it." 

I  confess  I  saw  little  about  Monsieur  Le  Compte's  manage 
ment  but  skill  and  good  seamanship ;  but  nothing  is  more 
painful  to  most  men  than  to  admit  the  merit  of  those  who 
have  obtained  an  advantage  over  them.  Marble  could  not 
forget  his  own  defeat;  and  the  recollection  jaundiced  his 
eyes,  and  biassed  his  judgment. 

"  I  see  our  people  are  busy,  already,  sir,"  I  remarked,  by 
way  of  drawing  the  captain's  attention  to  some  other  subject. 
"  They  have  hauled  the  schooner  up  to  the  yard,  and  seem 
to  be  getting  along  spars  for  shores." 

"  Ay,  ay — Talcott  has  his  orders ;  and  I  expect  you  will 
bestir  yourself.  I  shall  step  the  masts  myself,  and  you  will 
get  all  the  rigging  ready  to  be  put  into  its  place,  the  moment 
it  is  possible.  That  Frenchman  calculated,  he  told  me  to 
my  face,  that  we  might  get  to  sea  in  a  fortnight ;  I  will  let 
him  see  that  a  set  of  Yankees  can  rig  and  stow  his  bloody 
schooner,  in  three  days,  and  then  leave  themselves  time  to 
play." 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  255 

Marble  was  not  a  man  of  idle  vaunts.  He  soon  had 
everybody  at  work,  with  a  system,  order,  silence,  and 
activity,  that  proved  he  was  master  of  his  profession.  Nor 
was  the  language  which  might  sound  so  boastful  to  foreign 
ears,  altogether  without  its  justification.  Forty  Americans 
were  a  formidable  force;  and,  well  directed,  I  make  no 
doubt  they  would  accomplish  far  more  than  the  ordinary 
run  of  French  seamen,  as  they  were  governed  and  managed 
in  the  year  1800,  and,  counting  them  man  for  man,  would 
nave  accomplished  in  double  the  time.  Our  crew  had  now 
long  acted  together,  and  frequently  under  the  most  trying 
circumstances  ;  and  they  showed  their  training,  if  men  ever 
did,  on  the  present  occasion.  Everybody  was  busy ;  and 
we  had  the  shears  up,  and  both  masts  stepped,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  hours.  By  the  time  the  main-mast  was  in,  I  had 
the  fore-mast  rigged,  the  jib-boom  in  its  place,  the  sprit-sail 
yard  crossed — everything  carried  a  spar  under  its  bowsprit 
then  —  and  the  lower  yard  up.  It  is  true,  the  French  had 
got  everything  ready  for  us ;  and  when  we  turned  the 
hands  to,  after  dinner,  we  actually  began  to  strike  in  cargo, 
water,  provisions,  and  such  other  things,  as  it  was  intended 
to  carry  away.  At  dusk,  when  we  knocked  off  work,  the 
Emily  looked  like  a  sea-going  craft,  and  there  was  every 
prospect  of  our  having  her  ready  for  sea,  by  the  following 
evening.  But,  the  duty  had  been  carried  on,  in  silence. 
Napoleon  said  there  had  been  more  noise  made  in  the  little 
schooner  which  carried  him  from  1'Orient  to  Basque  Roads, 
than  was  made  on  board  the  line-of-battle  ship  that  conveyed 
him  to  St.  Helena,  during  the  whole  passage.  Since  that 
memorable  day,  the  French  have  learned  to  be  silent  on 
board  ship,  and  the  fruits  remain  to  be  seen. 

That  night,  Marble  and  myself  consulted  together  on  the 
aspect  of  things  —  or,  as  he  expressed  it,  "  we  generalized 
over  our  prospects."  Monsieur  Le  Compte  had  done  one 
thing  which  duty  required  of  him.  He  did  not  leave  us  a 
kernel  of  the  gunpowder  belonging  to  either  ship  ;  nor  could 
we  find  a  boarding-pike,  cutlass,  or  weapon  of  any  sort, 
except  the  officers'  pistols.  We  had  a  canister  of  powder, 
and  a  sufficiency  of  bullets  for  the  last,  which  had  been  left 
as,  out  of  an  esprit  de  corps,  or  the  feeling  of  an  officer, 
which  told  him  we  might  possibly  need  these  means  to  keep 


256  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

our  own  crew  in  order.  Such  was  not  the  fact,  however, 
with  the  particular  people  we  happened  to  have  ;  a  more 
orderly  and  reasonable  set  of  men  never  sailing  together. 
But,  Monsieur  Le  Compte  knew  it  was  his  duty  to  put  it  out  of 
their  power  to  trouble  us,  so  far  as  it  lay  in  his  ;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  while  he  left  us  the  means  of  safety,  he  provided 
against  our  doing  any  further  injury  to  his  own  country 
men.  In  this  he  had  pretty  effectually  succeeded,  so  far  as 
armament  was  concerned. 

The  next  morning  I  was  up  with  the  appearance  of  the 
dawn,  and,  having  suffered  much  from  the  heat  the  preced 
ing  day,  I  walked  to  a  suitable  spot,  threw  off  my  clothes, 
and  plunged  into  the  basin.  The  water  was  transparent 
almost  as  air ;  and  I  happened  to  select  a  place  where  the 
coral  grew  within  a  few  yards  of  the  surface.  As  I  dove, 
my  eye  fell  on  a  considerable  cluster  of  large  oysters  that 
were  collected  on  the  rock,  and,  reaching  them,  I  succeeded 
in  bringing  up  half  a  dozen  that  clung  to  each  other.  These 
dives  I  repeated,  during  the  next  quarter  of  an  hour,  until  I 
had  all  the  oysters,  sixty  or  eighty  in  number,  safe  on  the 
shore.  That  they  were  the  pearl  oysters,  I  knew  imme 
diately  ;  and  beckoning  to  Neb,  the  fellow  soon  had  them 
snug  in  a  basket,  and  put  away  in  a  place  of  security.  The 
circumstance  was  mentioned  to  Marble,  who,  finding  no 
more  heavy  drags  to  be  made,  ordered  the  Sandwich  Island 
ers  to  take  a  boat  and  pass  a  few  hours  in  their  regular  oc- 
cupation,  on  account  of  the  owners — if,  indeed,  the  last  had 
any  further  claim  on  our  services.  These  men  met  with 
tolerable  success,  though,  relatively,  nothing  equal  to  mine. 
What,  just  then,  was  of  far  more  importance,  they  made  a 
discovery  of  an  arm-chest  lying  on  the  bottom  of  the  basin, 
at  the  anchorage  of  the  Crisis,  and  which  had  doubtless 
been  sunk  there  by  the  French.  We  had  all  la  Pauline's 
boats  but  the  captain's  gig.  I  went  in  one  of  them  with  a 
gang  of  hands,  and,  the  divers  securing  a  rope  to  the  handles 
of  the  chest,  we  soon  got  it  in.  It  turned  out  to  be  one  of 
the  arm-chests  of  the  Crisis,  which  the  French  had  found  in 
their  way  and  thrown  overboard,  evidently  preferring  to  use 
weapons  to  which  they  were  accustomed.  They  had  done 
better  by  carrying  the  chest  out  to  sea,  and  disposing  of  it 
in  fifty  or  a  hundred  fathom  water. 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  257 

The  prize  was  turned  over  to  the  gunner,  who  reported 
that  it  was  the  chest  in  which  we  kept  our  cutlasses  and 
pistols,  of  both  of  which  there  was  a  sufficient  supply  to  give 
every  man  one  of  each.  There  were  also  several  horns  of 
powder,  and  a  bag  of  bullets ;  but  the  first  was  ruined  by 
the  water.  As  for  the  arms,  they  were  rubbed  dry,  oiled, 
and  put  away  again  in  the  chest,  after  the  last  had  stood  a 
whole  day,  in  the  hot  sun,  open.  Thus,  through  the  agency 
of  men  brought  for  a  very  different  purpose,  we  were  put  in 
possession  of  the  means  of  achieving  the  exploit,  which 
might  now  be  said  to  form  the  great  object  of  our  lives. 

That  day  we  got  everything  on  board  the  schooner  that 
it  was  thought  desirable  to  take  with  us.  We  left  much 
behind  that  was  valuable,  it  is  true,  especially  the  copper  ; 
but  Marble  wisely  determined  that  it  was  inexpedient  to  put 
the  vessel  deeper  than  good  ballast-trim,  lest  it  should  hurt 
her  sailing.  We  had  got  her  fairly  to  her  bearings,  and 
this  was  believed  to  be  as  low  as  was  expedient.  It  is  true, 
a  great  deal  remained  to  be  stowed  ;  the  deck  being  littered, 
and  the  hold,  the  ground-tier  excepted,  in  great  confusion. 
But  our  bread,  water,  beef,  pork,  and  other  eatables,  were 
all  there,  and  in  abundance ;  and,  though  not  to  be  had  for 
the  asking,  they  were  still  to  be  had.  The  sails  were  bent, 
and  the  only  anchor,  la  Pauline's  stream,  with  her  two 
largest  kedges,  was  on  our  bows.  While  in  this  condition, 
Marble  gave  the  unexpected  order  for  all  hands  to  come  on 
board,  and  for  the  shore-fasts  to  be  cast  off*. 

Of  course,  there  was  no  dissenting  to  so  positive  a  com 
mand.  We  had  signed  new  shipping-articles  for  the  schoon 
er,  extending  ^he  engagements  made  when  we  entered  on 
board  the  Crisis,  to  this  new  vessel,  or  any  other  she  migh1. 
capture.  The  wind  was  a  steady  trade,  and,  when  we 
showed  our  main-sail  and  jib  to  it,  the  little  craft  glided 
athwart  the  basin  like  a  duck.  Shooting  through  the  pass, 
Marble  tacked  her  twice,  as  soon  as  he  had  an  offing ;  and 
everybody  was  delighted  with  the  quickness  with  which  she 
was  worked.  There  was  barely  light  enough  to  enable  us 
to  find  our  way  through  the  opening  in  the  reef;  and,  just 
thirty-eight  hours  after  the  Crisis  sailed,  we  were  on  her 
track.  We  had  only  conjecture  to  guide  us  as  to  the  ship's 
course,  with  the  exception  of  the  main  fact  of  her  having 
22* 


258  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

sailed  for  the  west  coast  of  South  America ;  but  we  had  not 
failed  to  notice  that  she  disappeared  in  the  north-east  trades, 
on  a  bow-line.  We  put  the  schooner  as  near  as  possible  on 
the  same  course,  making  a  proper  allowance  for  the  differ 
ence  in  the  rig  of  the  two  vessels. 

The  distance  run  that  night,  satisfied  us  all  that  Mons. 
Le  Compte  was  a  good  draftsman.  The  schooner  ran  106 
miles  in  twelve  hours,  against  a  very  respectable  sea,  which 
was  at  least  ten  or  fifteen  more  than  the  Crisis  could  have 
done  under  the  same  circumstances.  It  is  true,  that  what 
was  close-hauled  for  her,  was  not  close-hauled  for  us ;  and, 
in  this  respect,  we  had  the  advantage  of  her.  Marble  was 
so  well  pleased  with  our  night's  work,  that  when  he  came 
on  deck  next  morning,  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  order  a 
bottle  of  rum  to  be  brought  him,  and  then  all  hands  to  be 
called.  As  soon  as  the  people  were  up,  he  went  forward, 
got  into  the  head,  and  commanded  every  body  to  muster  on 
the  forecastle.  Marble  now  made  a  speech. 

"  We  have  some  good,  and  some  bad  luck,  this  v'y'ge, 
men,"  he  said ;  "  and,  when  we  generalize  on  the  subject,  it 
will  be  found  that  good  luck  has  usually  followed  the  bad 
luck.  Now,  the  savages,  with  that  blackguard  Smudge, 
knocked  poor  Captain  Williams  in  the  head,  and  threw  him 
overboard,  and  got  the  ship  from  us ;  then  came  the  good 
luck  of  getting  her  back  again.  After  this,  the  French  did 
us  that  unhandsome  thing :  now,  here  comes  the  good  luck 
of  their  leaving  us  a  craft  that  will  overhaul  the  ship,  when 
I  needn't  tell  j/ow,  what. will  come  of  it."  Here  all  hands, 
as  in  duty  bound,  gave  three  cheers.  "  Now,  I  neither  sail 
nor  fight  in  a  craft  that  carries  a  French  name.  Captain 
Count  christened  the  schooner  the  —  Mr.  Wallingford  will 
tell  you  her  exact  name." 

"  La  Belle  Emelie,"  said  I,  "  or  the  Beautiful  Emily." 

"  None  of  your  belles  for  me,  nor  your  Beautiful  Emilys 
either,"  cried  Marble,  smashing  the  bottle  over  the  schoon 
er's  nose ;  "  So  here  goes  three  cheers  again,  for  the  «  Pretty 
Poll,"  which  was  the  name  the  craft  was  born  to,  and  the 
name  she  shall  bear,  as  long  as  Moses  Marble  sails  her." 

From  that  moment,  the  schooner  was  known  by  the  name 
of  the  "  Pretty  Poll."  I  met  with  portions  of  our  crevr 
years  afterwards,  and  they  always  spoke  of  her  by  thia 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  259 

appellation  ;  sometimes  familiarly  terming  her  the  "  Poll," 
or  the  "  Polly." 

All  the  first  day  out,  we  were  busy  in  making  ourselves 
comfortable,  and  in  getting  the  Polly's  trim.  We  succeeded 
so  well  in  this  last,  that,  according  to  our  calculations,  we 
made  a  knot  an  hour  more  than  the  Crisis  could  have  done 
under  the  same  circumstances,  fast  as  the  ship  was  known 
to  be.  As  the  Crisis  had  about  thirty-eight  hours  the  start 
of  us,  and  ran,  on  an  average,  about  seven  knots  the  hour 
for  all  that  time,  it  would  require  about  ten  days  to  overtake 
her.  Of  course  this  could  only  happen,  according  to  our 
own  calculations,  when  we  were  from  eighteen  hundred  to 
two  thousand  miles  from  the  island.  For  my  own  part,  I 
sincerely  hoped  it  would  not  occur  at  all,  at  sea  ;  feeling 
satisfied  our  only  chances  of  success  depended  on  surprise. 
By  following  the  vessel  into  some  port,  it  might  be  possible 
to  succeed ;  but,  for  an  unarmed  schooner  to  attack  a  ship 
like  the  Crisis,  with  even  a  large  crew  on  board,  it  seemed 
rashness  to  think  of  it.  Marble,  however,  would  not  listen 
to  my  remonstrances.  He  insisted  we  had  more  than  pow 
der  enough  to  load  all  our  pistols  half-a-dozen  times  each, 
and,  laying  the  ship  plump  aboard,  the  pistols  would  do  the 
rest.  I  was  silenced,  quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  if  not 
convinced. 

The  fifth  day  out,  Neb  came  to  me,  saying  —  "Master 
Miles,  somet'ing  must  be  done  wid  'em  'ere  'ysters !  Dey 
smell,  onaccountable;  and  de  people  swear  dey  will  t'row 
'em  overboard,  if  I  don't  eat  'em.  I  not  hungry  enough  for 
dat,  sir." 

These  were  the  pearl  oysters,  already  mentioned,  which 
had  been  hastening  to  dissolution  and  decomposition,  by  the 
heat  of  the  hold.  As  the  captain  was  as  much  concerned 
in  this  portion  of  the  cargo,  as  I  was  myself,  I  communi 
cated  the  state  of  things  to  him,  and  he  ordered  the  bags 
and  barrels  on  deck,  forthwith.  It  was  well  something  was 
done,  or  I  doubt  not  a  disease  would  have  been  the  con- 
sequence."  As  decomposition  was  the  usual  process  by  which 
to  come  at  the  treasures  of  these  animals,  however,  every 
thing  was  exactly  in  the  state  we  wished. 

An  uninterested  observer  would  have  laughed,  at  seeing 
the  employment  of  the  quarter-deck,  for  the  next  four  hours. 


260  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

Marble,  and  the  two  mates,  attacked  a  barrel  belonging  to 
the  captain,  while  Neb  and  I  had  my  own  share  to  our 
selves.  It  was  a  trying  occupation,  the  odour  far  exceeding 
in  strength  that  of  the  Spice  Islands.  We  stood  it,  however 
—  for  what  will  not  man  endure  for  the  sake  of  riches  1 
Marble  foresaw  the  difficulties,  and  had  once  announced  to 
the  mates  that  they  then  would  "  open  on  shares."  This 
had  a  solacing  influence,  and  amid  much  mirth  and  sundry 
grimaces,  the  work  went  on  with  tolerable  rapidity.  I 
observed,  however,  that  Talcott  threw  one  or  two  subjects, 
that  doubtless  were  tougher  than  common,  overboard,  after 
very  superficial  examinations. 

The  first  seven  oysters  I  examined,  contained  nothing  but 
seed  pearl,  and  not  many  of  these.  Neb  opened,  and  I  ex 
amined  ;  and  the  latter  occupation  was  so  little  to  my  taste, 
that  I  was  just  on  the  point  of  ordering  the  whole  lot  thrown 
overboard,  when  Neb  handed  me  another.  This  oyster 
contained  nine  beautiful  pearls,  of  very  uniform  dimensions, 
and  each  about  as  large  as  a  good-sized  pea.  I  dropped 
them  into  a  bowl  of  fresh  water,  whence  they  came  out 
sweet,  pearly,  and  lustrous.  They  were  of  the  sort  known 
as  the  "^hite  water,"  which  is  the  kind  most  prized  among 
Christian  nations,  doubtless  on  account  of  their  harmonizing 
so  well  with  the  skins  of  their  women.  No  sooner  was  my 
luck  known,  than  it  brought  all  the  other  "  pearl  fishermen" 
around  me ;  Marble,  with  his  nostrils  plugged  with  oakum, 
and  a  quid  of  tobacco  in  his  mouth,  that  was  as  large  as  a 
small  potatoe. 

"  By  George,  Miles,  that  looks  like  business,"  the  captain 
exclaimed,  going  back  to  his  work,  with  renovated  zeal, 
"  though  it  is  a  calling  fit  only  for  hogs  and  scavengers ! 
Did  I  embark  in  it  largely,  I  would  keep  as  many  clerks  as 
a  bank.  What  do  you  suppose  now,  these  nine  chaps  may 
be  worth  ?" 

"  Some  fifty  dollars,  or  thereabouts  —  you  see,  sir,  they 
are  quite  large  —  much  larger  than  it  is  usual  to  see  our 
women  wear." 

The  ninth  of  my  oysters  produced  eleven  pearls,  and  all 
about  the  size  and  quality  of  the  first.  In  a  few  minutes  I 
had  seventy-three  just  such  pearls,  besides  a  quantity  of  seed 
pearl.  Then  followed  a  succession  of  barren  shells;  a 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE  261 

dozen  not  giving  a  pearl.  The  three  that  succeeded  them 
gave  thirty-one  more  ;  and  another  yielded  four  pearls,  each 
of  which  was  as  large  as  a  small  cherry.  After  that,  I  got 
one  that  was  almost  as  large  as  a  common  hickory-nut,  and 
six  more  of  the  size  of  the  cherry-sized  pearls.  In  addition 
to  these,  I  got  in  all,  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  of  the 
size  of  peas,  besides  a  large  handful  of  the  seed  pearl.  I 
afterwards  ascertained,  that  the  pearls  I  had  thus  obtained 
were  worth  in  the  market  about  eighteen  hundred  dollars  ; 
as  they  were  far  more  remarkable  for  their  beauty,  than  for 
their  size. 

Notwithstanding  the  oakum  plugs,  and  the  tobacco,  and 
the  great  quantity  of  shells  his  divers  had  found,  for  they 
had  brought  up  something  like  two  hundred  and  fifty  oys 
ters  in  the  course  of  the  day,  the  party  of  the  captain  found 
in  all,  but  thirty-six  pearls,  the  seed  excepted ;  though  they 
obtained  some  beautiful  specimens  among  the  shells.  From 
that  moment,  Marble  discontinued  the  trade,  and  I  never 
heard  him  say  anything  more  on  the  subject  of  pursuing  it. 
My  own  beauties  were  put  carefully  away,  in  reserve  for 
the  time  when  I  might  delight  the  eyes  of  certain  of  my 
female  friends  with  them.  I  never  intended  to  sell  one,  but 
they  were  very  precious  to  me  on  other  accounts.  As  for 
the  crew,  glad  enough  were  they  to  be  rid  of  such  uncom 
fortable  shipmates.  As  I  gazed  on  the  spotless  and  lus 
trous  pearls,  and  compared  them  with  the  revolting  tene 
ments  from  which  they  had  just  been  redeemed,  I  likened 
them  to  the  souls  of  the  just  escaping  from  their  tenements 
of  clay,  to  enjoy  hereafter  an  endless  existence  of  purity. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Pretty  Poll  continued  to  find  her 
way  along  miles  and  miles  of  the  deserted  track  across  the 
Pacific.  Marble  had  once  belonged  to  a  Baltimore  clipper, 
and  he  sailed  our  craft  probably  much  better  than  she  would 
have  been  sailed  by  Mons.  Le  Compte,  though  that  officer,  as  I 
afterwards  learned,  had  distinguished  himself  in  command  of 
a  lugger-privateer,  in  the  British  Channel.  Our  progress  was 
generally  from  a  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  in  twenty-four  hours  ;  and  so  it  continued  to  be 
for  the  first  ten  days,  or  the  period,  when,  according  to  our 
own  calculations,  we  ought  to  be  near  the  Crisis,  had  that 
vessel  steered  a  course  resembling  our  own.  For  my  own 


262  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

part,  I  neither  wished  nor  expected  to  see  the  ship,  until  we 
reached  the  coast  of  South  America,  when  we  might  ascer 
tain  her  position  by  communicating  with  the  shore.  As  for 
the  guarda-costas,  I  knew  we  could  easily  elude  them,  and 
there  might  be  a  small  chance  of  regaining  the  vessel,  some 
thing  like  the  way  in  which  we  had  lost  her.  But  Marble's 
impatience,  and  the  keenness  with  which  he  felt  our  dis 
grace,  would  not  make  terms  even  with  the  elements ;  and 
I  do  believe,  he  would  have  run  alongside  of  the  Crisis  in  a 
gale  of  wind,  could  he  have  come  up  with  her.  The  chance 
of  our  having  sailed  so  far,  however,  on  a  line  so  nearly  re 
sembling  that  of  the  chase  as  to  bring  us  together,  was  so 
very  small,  that  few  of  us  thought  it  worth  our  considera 
tion. 

On  the  morning  of  the  eleventh  day,  the  look-out  we  had 
kept  on  the  fore-top-sail-yard,  sang  out  "  Sail-ho  !"  Marble 
and  myself  were  soon  on  the  yard,  there  being  nothing 
visible  from  the  deck.  The  upper  sails,  top-gallant-sails, 
and  royals  of  a  ship  were  visible  on  our  weather-quarter, 
distant  from  fifteen  to  twenty  miles.  As  we  were  now  in 
the  track  of  whalers,  of  which  there  were  a  good  many  in 
that  part  of  the  Pacific,  I  thought  it  was  probable  this  was 
one ;  but  Marble  laughed  at  the  notion,  asking  if  I  had  ever 
heard  of  a  whaler's  carrying  royals  on  her  cruising  ground. 
He  affirmed  it  was  the  Crisis,  heading  the  same  way  we 
were  ourselves,  and  which  had  only  got  to  windward  of  us, 
by  keeping  a  better  luff.  We  had  calculated  too  much  on 
the  schooner's  weatherly  qualities,  and  had  allowed  her  to 
fall  off  more  than  was  necessary,  in  the  night-watches. 

The  Pretty  Poll  was  now  jammed  up  on  a  wind,  in  the 
hope  of  closing  with  the  chase  in  the  course  of  the  night. 
But  the  wind  had  been  growing  lighter  and  lighter  for  some 
hours,  and  by  noon,  though  we  had  neared  the  chase  so 
much  as  to  be  able  to  see  her  from  deck,  there  was  every 
prospect  of  its  falling  calm  ;  after  which,  in  the  trades,  it 
would  be  surprising  if  we  did  not  get  a  blow.  To  make  the 
most  of  our  time,  Marble  determined  to  tack,  when  we 
had  just  got  the  chase  a  point  off  our  weather-bow.  An 
hour  after  tacking,  an  object  was  seen  adrift  on  the  ocean, 
and  keeping  away  a  little  to  close  with  it,  it  was  ascer 
tained  to  be  a  whale-boat,  adrift.  The  boat  was  American- 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  263 

built,  had  a  breaker  of  water,  the  oars,  and  all  the  usual 
fittings  in  it ;  and  the  painter  being  loose,  it  had  probably 
been  lost,  when  towing  in  the  night,  in  consequence  of  hav 
ing  been  fastened  by  three  half-hitches. 

The  moment  Marble  ascertained  the  condition  of  this 
boat,  he  conceived  his  plan  of  operations.  The  four  Sand 
wich  Islanders  had  been  in  whalers,  and  he  ordered  them 
into  the  boat,  put  in  some  rum,  and  some  food,  gave  me  his 
orders,  got  in  himself,  and  pulled  ahead,  going  off  at  five 
knots  the  hour,  leaving  the  schooner  to  follow  at  the  rate  of 
two.  This  was  about  an  hour  before  sunset ;  and  by  the 
time  it  was  dark,  the  boat  had  become  a  mere  s]5bck  on  the 
water,  nearly  half-way  between  us  and  the  ship,  which  was 
now  some  fifteen  miles  distant,  heading  always  in  the  same 
direction. 

My  orders  had  been  very  simple.  They  were,  to  stand 
on  the  same  course,  until  I  saw  a  light  from  the  boat,  and 
then  tack,  so  as  to  run  on  a  parallel  line  with  the  ship.  The 
signal  was  made  by  Marble  about  nine  o'clock.  It  was  im 
mediately  answered  from  the  schooner.  The  light  in  the 
boat  was  concealed  from  the  ship,  and  our  own  was  shown 
only  for  a  few  seconds,  the  disappearance  of  Mr.  Marble's 
telling  us  in  that  brief  space,  that  our  answer  was  noted.  I 
tacked  immediately ;  and,  taking  in  the  fore-sail,  stood  on 
the  directed  course.  We  had  all  foreseen  a  change  in  the 
weather,  and  probably  a  thunder-squall.  So  far  from  its  giv 
ing  Marble  any  uneasiness,  he  anticipated  the  blow  with 
pleasure,  as  he  intended  to  lay  the  Crisis  aboard  in  its 
height.  He  fancied  that  success  would  then  be  the  most 
certain.  His  whole  concern  was  at  not  being  able  to  find 
the  ship  in  the  darkness  ;  and  it  was  to  obviate  this  difficulty 
that  he  undertook  to  pilot  us  up  to  her  in  the  manner  I  have 
just  mentioned. 

After  getting  round,  a  sharp  look-out  was  kept  for  the 
light.  We  caught  another  view  of  it,  directly  on  our  wea 
ther-beam.  From  this  we  inferred  that  the  ship  had  more 
wind  than  we  felt ;  inasmuch  as  she  had  materially  altered 
her  position,  while  we  had  not  moved  a  mile  since  we 
tacked.  This  was  on  the  supposition  that  Marble  would 
endeavour  to  follow  the  movements  of  the  ship.  At  ten,  the 
tempest  broke  upon  us  with  tropical  violence,  and  with  a 


264  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

suddenness  that  took  everybody  by  surprise.  A  squall  had 
been  expected;  but  no  one  anticipated  its  approach  for 
several  hours ;  and  we  had  all  looked  for  the  return  of  the 
whale-boat,  ere  that  moment  should  come.  But,  come  it 
did,  when  least  expected ;  the  first  puff  throwing  our  little 
schooner  down,  in  a  way  to  convince  us  the  elements  were 
in  earnest.  In  fifteen  minutes  after  the  first  blast  was  felt, 
I  had  the  schooner,  under  a  reefed  foresail,  and  with  that 
short  canvass,  there  were  instants,  as  she  struggled  up  to 
the  summit  of  the  waves,  that  it  seemed  as  if  she  were  about 
to  fly  out  of  the  water.  My  great  concern,  however,  was 
for  the  bbat,  of  which  nothing  could  now  be  seen.  The 
orders  left  by  Marble  anticipated  no  such  occurrence  as  this 
tempest,  and  the  concert  between  us  was  interrupted.  It 
was  naturally  inferred  among  us,  in  the  schooner,  that  the 
boat  would  endeavour  to  close,  as  soon  as  the  danger  was 
foreseen ;  and,  as  this  would  probably  be  done,  by  running 
on  a  converging  line,  all  our  efforts  were  directed  to  keeping 
the  schooner  astern  of  the  other  party,  in  order  that  they 
might  first  reach  the  point  of  junction.  In  this  manner 
there  was  a  chance  of  Marble's  finding  the  schooner,  while 
there  was  little  of  our  finding  the  boat.  It  is  true,  we  car 
ried  several  lights ;  but  as  soon  as  it  began  to  rain,  even  a 
bonfire  would  not  have  been  seen  at  a  hundred  yards.  The 
water  poured  down  upon  us,  as  if  it  fell  from  spouts,  occa 
sionally  ceasing,  and  then  returning  in  streams. 

I  had  then  never  passed  so  miserable  a  night ;  even  that 
in  which  Smudge  and  his  fellows  murdered  Captain  Williams 
and  seized  the  ship,  being  happiness  in  comparison.  I  loved 
Marble.  Hardy,  loose,  in  some  respects,  and  unnurtured  as 
he  was  in  others,  the  man  had  been  steadily  my  friend.  He 
was  a  capital  seaman ;  a  sort  of  an  instinctive  navigator ; 
true  as  the  needle  to  the  flag,  and  as  brave  as  a  lion.  Then, 
I  knew  he  was  in  his  present  strait  on  account  of  mortified 
feeling,  and  the  rigid  notions  he  entertained  of  his  duty  to 
his  owners.  I  think  I  do  myself  no  more  than  justice,  when 
I  say  that  I  would  gladly  have  exchanged  places  with  him, 
any  time  that  night. 

We  held  a  consultation  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  it  was 
determined  that  our  only  chance  of  picking  up  the  boat,  was 
by  remaining  as  nearly  as  possible,  at  the  place  where  her 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  265 

crew  must  have  last  seen  the  schooner.  Marble  had  a  right 
to  expect  this  ;  and  we  did  all  that  lay  in  our  power  to  effect 
the  object ;  waring  often,  and  gaining  on  our  tacks  what 
we  lost  in  coming  round.  In  this  manner  we  passed  a 
painful  and  most  uncomfortable  night ;  the  winds  howling 
about  us  a  sort  of  requiem  for  the  dead,  while  we  hardly 
knew  when  we  were  wallowing  in  the  seas  or  not,  there 
being  so  much  water  that  came  down  from  the  clouds,  ay 
nearly  to  drown  us  on  deck. 

At  last  the  light  returned,  and  socn  after  the  tempest 
broke,  appearing  to  have  expended  its  fury.  An  hour  after 
the  sun  had  risen,  we  got  the  trade-wind  again,  the  sea 
became  regular  once  more,  and  the  schooner  was  under  all 
her  canvass.  Of  course,  every  one  of  us  officers  was  aloft, 
some  forward,  some  aft,  to  look  out  for  the  boat ;  but  we 
did  not  see  her  again.  What  was  still  more  extraordinary, 
nothing  could  be  seen  of  the  ship  !  We  kept  all  that  day 
cruising  around  the  place,  expecting  to  find  at  least  the 
boat ;  but  without  success. 

My  situation  was  now  altogether  novel  to  me.  I  had  left 
home  rather  more  than  a  twelvemonth  before,  the  third 
officer  of  the  Crisis.  From  this  station,  I  had  risen  regu 
larly  to  be  her  first  officer ;  and  now,  by  a  dire  catastrophe, 
I  found  myself  in  the  Pacific,  solely  charged  with  the  for 
tunes  of  my  owners,  and  those  of  some  forty  human  beings. 
And  this,  too,  before  I  was  quite  twenty  years  old. 

Marble's  scheme  of  attacking  the  ship  had  always  seemed 
to  me  to  be  wild  and  impracticable.  This  was  while  it  was 
his  project,  not  my  own.  1  still  entertained  the  same  opi 
nion,  as  regards  the  assault  at  sea;  but  I  had,  from  the  first, 
regarded  an  attempt  on  the  coast  as  a  thing  much  more 
likely  to  succeed.  Then  Emily,  and  her  father,  and  the 
honour  of  the  flag,  and  the  credit  I  might  personally  gain, 
had  their  influence ;  and,  at  sunset,  all  hope  of  finding  the 
boat  being  gone,  I  ordered  sail  made  on  our  course. 

The  loss  of  the  whale-boat  occurred  when  we  were  about 
two  thousand  miles  from  the  western  coast  of  South  Ame 
rica.  We  had  a  long  road  before  us,  consequently ;  and,  as 
I  had  doubted  whether  the  ship  we  had  seen  was  the  Crisis, 
it  was  necessary  to  be  in  motion,  if  anything  was  to  bo 
effected  with  our  old  enemies.  The  reader  may  feel  some 


266  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

desire  to  know  in  what  manner  my  succession  to  the  com 
mand  was  received  by  the  people.  No  man  could  have 
been  more  implicitly  obeyed.  I  was  now  six  feet  and  an 
inch  in  height,  of  a  powerful  and  active  frame,  a  good  sea 
man,  and  had  the  habit  of  command,  through  a  twelvemonth's 
experience.  The  crew  knew  me,  having  seen  me  tried,  from 
the  weather-earings  down ;  and  it  is  very  likely  I  possessed 
more  of  their  confidence  than  I  deserved.  At  all  events,  I 
was  as  implicitly  obeyed  as  if  I  had  sailed  from  New  York 
at  their  head.  Everybody  regretted  Marble ;  more,  I  think, 
than  we  regretted  poor  Captain  Williams,  though  it  must 
have  been  on  account  of  the  manner  we  saw  him  disappear, 
as  it  might  be,  from  before  our  eyes ;  since,  of  the  two,  I 
think  the  last  was  the  most  estimable  man.  Nevertheless, 
Marble  had  his  strong  points,  and  they  were  points  likely  to 
take  with  seamen ;  and  they  had  particularly  taken  with 
us.  As  for  the  four  Sandwich  Islanders,  I  do  not  know  that 
they  occupied  any  of  our  minds  at  all.  We  had  been  ac 
customed  to  regard  them  as  strange  beings,  who  came  from 
that  ocean  to  which  they  had  thus  suddenly  returned. 

Fifteen  days  after  the  loss  of  the  whale-boat,  we  made  the 
peaks  of  the  Andes,  a  very  few  degrees  to  the  southward  of 
the  equator.  From  some  casual  remarks  made  by  the 
French,  and  which  I  had  overheard,  I  had  been  led  to  be 
lieve  they  intended  to  run  for  Guayaquil,  or  its  vicinity ; 
and  I  aimed  at  reaching  the  coast  near  the  same  point.  We 
had  been  in,  ourselves,  at  several  bays  and  roadsteads,  more 
over,  on  this  part  of  the  shore,  on  our  way  north  ;  and  I  felt 
at  home  among  them.  We  had  acquaintances,  too,  who 
could  not  fail  to  be  of  use  to  us  ;  and  everything  conspired 
to  render  this  an  advantageous  land-fall. 

On  the  evening  of  the  twenty-ninth  day  after  quitting  the 
island,  we  took  the  schooner  into  an  open  roadstead,  where 
we  had  carried  en  some  extensive  traffic  in  the  ship,  about 
eight  months  before,  and  where  I  fancied  we  should  still  be 
recognised.  As  was  expected,  we  had  scarcely  anchored, 
before  a  Don  Pedro  Something,  a  fellow  with  a  surprising 
string  of  names,  came  off  to  us  in  a  boat,  in  order  to  ascer 
tain  who  we  were,  and  what  we  wanted.  Perhaps  it  would 
be  better  to  say,  what  we  had  that  he  wanted.  I  knew  the 
man  at  a  glance,  having  delivered  to  him,  myself,  thrct1 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  267 

boat-loads  of  goods,  and  received  a  small  bag  of  doubloons 
in  exchange.  A  very  few  words,  half-English,  half-Spanish, 
served  to  renew  our  acquaintance ;  and  I  gave  our  old  friend 
to  understand  that  I  was  in  search  of  the  ship,  from  which 
I  had  been  separated  on  some  extra  duty.  After  beating  the 
bush  to  discover  all  he  could,  the  Don  Pedro  gave  me  to 
understand  that  a  ship  had  gone  in  behind  an  island  that 
was  only  ten  miles  to  the  southward  of  us,  that  very  after 
noon  ;  that  he  had  seen  her  himself,  and  had  supposed  she 
might  be  his  old  friend  the  Crisis,  until  he  saw  the  French 
ensign  at  her  gaff.  This  was  sufficient,  and  I  made  inqui 
ries  for  a  pilot.  A  man  qualified  to  carry  us  to  the  place 
was  found  in  one  of  the  boatmen.  As  I  feared  the  news  of 
the  arrival  of  a  schooner  might  be  carried  to  the  ship,  much 
as  we  had  got  our  intelligence,  no  time  was  lost,  but  we  were 
under-way  by  ten  o'clock.  At  midnight  we  entered  the 
pass  between  the  main  and  the  island ;  there  I  got  into  a 
boat,  and  pulled  ahead,  in  order  to  reconnoitre.  I  found 
the  ship  lying  close  under  a  high  bluff,  which  made  a  capi 
tal  lee,  and  with  every  sign  about  her  of  tranquillity.  Still, 
I  knew  a  vessel  that  was  always  in  danger  from  the  guarda- 
costas,  and  which  relied  on  the  celerity  of  its  movements  for 
its  safety,  would  have  a  vigilant  look-out.  Accordingly,  I 
took  a  cool  and  careful  examination  of  the  ship's  position, 
landing  and  ascending  the  bluff,  in  order  to  do  this  at  my 
ease.  About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  returned  to  the 
schooner. 

When  I  put  my  foot  on  the  Polly's  deck  again,  she  was 
quite  near  the  point,  or  blufF,  having  set  down  towards  it 
during  my  absence.  All  hands  were  on  deck,  armed,  and 
in  readiness.  Expectation  had  got  to  be  so  keen,  that  we 
had  a  little  difficulty  in  keeping  the  men  from  cheering ;  but 
silence  was  preserved,  and  I  communicated  the  result  of  my 
observations  in  as  few  words  as  possible.  The  orders  were 
then  given,  and  the  schooner  was  brought  under  short  sail, 
for  the  attack.  We  were  so  near  our  side  of  the  bluff,  while 
the  ship  lay  so  near  the  other,  that  my  principal  apprehension 
was  of  falling  to  leeward,  which  might  give  the  French  time 
to  muster,  and  recollect  themselves.  The  canvass,  accord 
ingly,  was  reduced  to  the  fore-sail,  though  the  jib,  main-sail, 
and  top-sail  were  all  loose,  in  readiness  to  be  set,  if  wanted. 


268  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

The  plan  was  to  run  the  ship  aboard,  on  her  starboard-bow, 
or  off-side,  as  respected  the  island ;  and  to  do  this  with  as 
little  of  a  shock  as  possible. 

When  everything  was  ready,  I  went  aft,  stood  by  the  man 
at  the  helm,  and  ordered  him  to  bear  up.  Neb  placed  him 
self  just  behind  me.  I  knew  it  was  useless  to  interfere,  and 
let  the  fellow  do  as  he  pleased.  The  pilot  had  told  me  the 
water  was  deep,  up  to  the  rocks  of  the  bluff;  and  we  hugged 
the  land  as  close  as  possible,  in  rounding  the  point.  At  the 
next  moment  the  ship  was  in  sight,  distant  less  than  a  hun 
dred  fathoms.  I  saw  we  had  good  way,  and,  three  minutes 
later,  I  ordered  the  fore-sail  brailed.  At  the  same  instant  I 
walked  forward.  So  near  were  we,  that  the  flapping  of  the 
canvass  was  heard  in  the  ship,  and  we  got  a  hail.  A  mys- 
titied  answer  followed,  and  then  crash  came  our  bows  along 
those  of  the  Crisis.  "  Hurrah  !  for  the  old  craft !"  shouted 
our  men,  and  aboard  we  tumbled  in  a  body.  Our  charge 
was  like  the  plunge  of  a  pack  of  hounds,  as  they  leap  through 
a  hedge. 

The  scene  that  followed  was  one  of  wild  tumult.  Some 
twenty  pistols  were  fired,  and  a  good  many  hard  blows  were 
struck ;  but  the  surprise  secured  us  the  victory.  In  less 
than  three  minutes,  Talcott  came  to  report  to  me  that  our 
lads  had  complete  possession  of  the  deck,  and  that  the 
French  asked  for  quarter.  At  first,  the  enemy  supposed 
they  had  been  seized  by  a  guarda-costa,  for  the  impression 
had  been  general  among  them  that  we  intended  to  quit  the 
island  for  Canton.  Great  was  the  astonishment  among  them 
when  the  truth  came  to  be  known.  I  heard  a  great  many 
"  sacr-r-r-es  /"  and  certain  other  maledictions  in  low  French, 
that  it  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  repeat. 

Harris,  one  of  the  Philadelphians,  and  the  man  who  had 
got  us  into  the  difficulty  by  falling  asleep  on  his  watch,  was 
killed;  and  no  less  than  nine  of  our  men,  myself  among  the 
number,  were  hurt  in  this  brisk  business.  All  the  wounds, 
however,  were  slight;  only  three  of  the  injuries  taking  the 
parties  off  duty.  As  for  the  poor  fellow  who  fell,  he  owed 
his  death  to  risking  too  much,  in  order  to  recover  the  ground 
he  had  lost. 

The  French  fared  much  worse  than  ourselves.  Of  those 
killed  outright,  and  those  who  died  before  morning,  there 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  269 

were  no  less  than  sixteen :  our  fellows  having  fired  a  volley 
into  a  group  that  was  rushing  on  deck,  besides  using  their 
cutlasses  with  great  severity  for  the  first  minute  or  two. 
This  was  on  the  principle -that  the  first  blow  was  half  the 
battle.  There  were  few  wounded ;  most  of  those  who  fell 
being  cut  or  thrust  at  by  several  at  the  same  time — a  species 
of  attack  that  left  little  chance  for  escape.  Poor  Mons.  Le 
Compte  was  found  stone-dead  at  the  cabin-doors,  having 
been  shot  in  the  forehead,  just  as  he  put  his  foot  on  the  deck. 
I  heard  his  voice  once  in  the  fray,  and  feared  it  boded  no 
good  ;  but  the  silence  which  succeeded  was  probably  caused 
by  his  just  then  receiving  the  fatal  bullet.  He  was  in  his 
shirt. 


CHAPTER 

1st  Witch.  "  Hail !" 

2d  Witch.  "Hail!" 

3d  Witch.  "  Hail !" 

1st  Witch.  "  Lesser  than  Macbeth,  and  greater." 

2of  Witch.  "  Not  so  happy,  yet  much  happier." 

MACBETH. 

I  HOPE  I  shall  be  believed  in  saying,  if  Marble  had  been 
with  us  when  we  retook  the  ship,  I  should  have  been  per 
fectly  happy.  He  was  not,  however,  and  regret  was  left  to 
mingle  in  our  triumph.  I  had  a  hasty  interview  with  Major 
Merton  that  night,  and  communicated  all  that  was  necessary 
to  quiet  the  apprehensions  of  his  daughter.  Emily  was  in 
her  state-room,  and  had  been  alarmed,  as  a  matter  of  course ; 
but  when  she  learned  that  all  was  over,  and  had  terminated 
successfully,  her  fears  yielded  to  reason.  Of  course,  both 
she  and  her  father  felt  it  to  be  a  great  relief  that  they  were 
no  longer  prisoners. 

We  were  no  sooner  fairly  in  command  of  our  old  ship, 
again,  than  I  had  all  hands  called  to  get  the  anchor.     We 
hove  up,  and  passed  out  to  sea  without  delay,  it  being  ne 
cessary  to  cover  our  movements  with  as  much  mystery  as 
23* 


270  AFLOAT      AND      A  S  H  O  HE  . 

possible,  in  order  to  prevent  certain  awkward  demands  from 
the  Spanish  government,  on  the  subject  of  the  violation  of 
neutral  territory.  A  hint  from  Major  Me r ton  put  me  on  my 
guard  as  respected  this  point,  and  I  determined  to  disappear 
as  suddenly  as  we  had  arrived,  in  order  to  throw  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  being  traced.  By  day-light,  therefore,  both 
the  ship  and  schooner  were  four  leagues  from  the  land,  and 
on  the  "  great  highway  of  nations ;"  a  road,  it  may  be  said 
in  passing,  that  was  then  greatly  infested  by  foot-pads  and 
other  robbers. 

Just  as  the  sun  rose,  we  buried  the  dead.  This  was  done 
decently,  and  with  the  usual  ceremony,  the  triumph  of  vic 
tory  giving  place  to  the  sad  reflections  that  are  so  apt  to 
succeed  to  the  excited  feelings  of  most  of  our  struggles.  I 
saw  poor  Le  Compte  disappear  from  sight  with  regret,  and 
remembered  his  recent  hopes,  his  generous  treatment,  his 
admiration  of  Emily,  and  all  that  he  had  so  lately  thought 
and  felt,  as  a  warning  of  the  fragile  nature  of  life,  and  that 
which  life  can  bestow.  Thus  terminated  an  acquaintance 
of  a  month ;  but  a  month  that  had  been  pregnant  with  inci 
dents  of  great  importance  to  myself. 

It  now  became  necessary  to  decide  on  our  future  course. 
I  had  the  ship,  just  as  the  French  got  her  from  us,  with  the 
addition  of  those  portions  of  their  own  cargo  with  which 
they  had  intended  to  trade  on  the  coast  of  South  America. 
These  consisted  of  silks  and  various  fancy  articles,  with 
a  little  wine,  and  would  be  nearly  as  valuable  at  home  as 
they  were  in  Spanish  America.  I  was  strongly  averse  to 
smuggling,  and  the  ship  having  already  followed  out  her 
original  instructions  on  this  point,  I  saw  no  necessity  for 
pursuing  the  ungrateful  trade  any  further.  Could  I  return 
to  the  island,  and  get  the  articles  of  value  left  on  it  by  the 
French,  such  as  the  copper  they  had  not  used,  and  divers 
oales  received  from  the  Bombay  ship,  which  had  been  aban 
doned  by  us  all  under  a  tent,  more  profit  would  accrue  to 
my  owners  than  by  any  illicit  commerce  we  could  now  pos. 
sibly  carry  into  effect  on  the  coast. 

While  Talcott,  and  the  new  chief-mate,  and  myself  were 
discussing  these  points,  the  cry  of  "  sail  ho !"  was  heard. 
A  large  ship  had  suddenly  hove  up  out  of  the  morning's 
mist,  within  a  mile  of  us,  and  I  thought,  at  first,  we  had  got 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

under  the  guns  of  a  Spanish  man-of-war.  A  second  look  al 
her,  however,  satisfied  us  all,  that,  though  heavy  and  armed, 
she  was  merely  one  of  those  clumsy  traders  that  sailed, 
periodically,  from  the  colonies  to  Spain.  We  went  to  quar 
ters,  and  cleared  ship,  but  made  no  effort  to  avoid  the  stran 
ger.  The  Spaniards,  of  the  two,  were  the  most  uneasy,  I 
believe,  their  country  being  then  at  war  with  England ;  but 
we  spoke  each  other  without  coming  to  blows.  As  soon  as 
the  strangers  saw  the  American  ensign,  they  expressed  a 
wish  to  communicate  with  us ;  and,  unwilling  to  let  them 
come  on  board  us,  I  volunteered  a  visit  to  the  Spanish  cap 
tain.  He  received  me  with  formal  politeness,  and,  after 
some  preliminary  discourse,  he  put  into  my  hands  some 
American  newspapers,  which  contained  a  copy  of  the 
treaty  of  peace  between  the  United  States  and  France.  On 
looking  over  the  articles  of  this  new  compact,  I  found  that, 
had  our  recapture  of  the  Crisis  been  delayed  to  that  very 
day,  at  noon,  it  would  have  been  illegal.  The  two  nations, 
in  fact,  were  at  peace,  when  the  French  seized  trie  ship,  but 
the  customary  provisions  as  to  captures  in  distant  seas,  just 
brought  us  within  the  saving  clauses.  Such  is  war,  and  its 
concomitants ! 

In  the  course  of  half  an  hour's  conversation,  I  discovered 
that  the  Spaniard  intended  to  touch  at  Valparaiso,  and  called, 
in  order  to  get  men,  his  own  having  suffered,  up  the  coast, 
with  the  small-pox.  His  ship  was  large,  carried  a  consider 
able  armament,  and  he  should  not  deem  her  safe  from  the 
smaller  English  cruisers,  unless  he  doubled  the  Cape  much 
stronger  handed  than  he  then  was.  I  caught  at  the  idea, 
and  inquired  what  he  thought  of  Frenchmen  ?  They  would 
answer  his  purpose,  for  France  and  Spain  had  a  common 
enemy,  and  nothing  would  be  easier  than  to  send  the  French 
from  Cadiz  to  Marseilles.  A  bargain  was  consequently  struck 
on  the  spot. 

When  I  got  back  on  board  the  Crisis,  I  had  all  the  pri 
soners  mustered  on  deck.  They  were  made  acquainted  with 
the  oilers  of  the  Spanish  captain,  with  the  fact  that  peace 
now  existed  between  our  respective  countries,  and  with  the 
chance  that  presented  itself,  so  opportunely,  for  them  to  re 
turn  home.  The  proposition  was  cheerfully  accepted,  any 
thing  being  better  than  captivity.  Before  parting,  I  endea- 


272  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

voured  to  impress  on  the  French  the  necessity  of  prudence 
on  the  subject  of  our  recapturing  the  Crisis  in  Spanish  wa 
ters,  inasmuch  as  the  circumstance  might  induce  an  inquiry 
as  to  what  took  the  ship  there ;  it  being  well  understood  that 
the  mines  were  the  punishment  of  those  who  were  taken  in 
the  contraband  trade  in  that  quarter  of  the  world.  The 
French  promised  fairly.  Whether  they  kept  their  words  I 
never  knew,  but,  if  they  did  not,  no  consequences  ever  fol 
lowed  from  their  revelations.  In  such  a  case,  indeed,  the 
Spanish  government  would  be  very  apt  to  consider  the  ques 
tion  one  that  touched  the  interests  of  smugglers  alike,  and 
to  feel  great  indifference  between  the  parties.  At  all  events, 
no  complaints  were  ever  made  to  the  American  government ; 
or,  if  made,  they  never  reached  my  ears,  or  those  of  my 
owners.  It  is  most  probable  nothing  was  ever  said  on  the 
subject. 

About  noon  we  had  got  rid  of  our  prisoners.  They  were 
allowed  to  take  away  with  them  all  their  own  effects,  and, 
as  usually  happens  in  such  cases,  I  make  little  doubt  some 
that  belonged  to  other  persons.  The  ships  then  made  sail, 
each  on  her  own  course ;  the  Spaniard  running  down  the 
coast,  while  we  spread  our  studding-sails  for  the  island.  As 
soon  as  this  was  done,  I  felt  relieved  from  a  great  burthen, 
and  had  leisure  to  think  of  other  matters.  I  ought  to  men 
tion,  however,  that  I  put  the  second-mate,  or  him  who  had 
become  chief-mate  by  my  own  advancement,  in  command 
of  the  "  Pretty  Poll,"  giving  him  two  experienced  seamen 
as  his  own  mates,  and  six  men,  to  sail  her.  This  made 
Talcott  the  Crisis'  first  officer,  and  glad  was  I  to  see  him  in 
a  station  a  little  suited  to  his  attainments. 

That  evening,  just  as  the  sun  was  setting,  I  saw  Emily 
again,  for  the,  first  time  since  she  had  stood  leaning  over  the 
rail  as  the  Crisis  shot  through  the  inlet  of  the  lagoon.  The 
poor  girl  was  pale,  and  it  was  evident,  while  she  could  not 
but  rejoice  at  her  liberation,  and  her  release  from  the  solici 
tations  of  the  unfortunate  Le  Compte,  that  his  death  had  cast 
a  shade  of  sadness  over  her  pretty  features.  It  could  not 
well  be  otherwise,  the  female  breast  ever  entertaining  its 
sympathies  for  those  who  submit  to  the  influence  of  its 
owner's  charms.  Then,  poor  Le  Compte  had  some  excellent 
qualities,  and  he  treated  Emily,  as  she  admitted  to  me  her- 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  273 

pelf,  with  the  profoundest  respect  and  delicacy.  His  admi 
ration  could  scarce  be  an  offence  in  her  eyes,  however  dis 
agreeable  it  proved,  in  certain  points  of  view. 

Our  meeting  partook  of  the  character  of  our  situation, 
being  a  mixture  of  melancholy  and  happiness.  I  rejoiced 
in  our  success,  while  I  regretted  Marble,  and  even  our  late 
enemies,  while  the  Major  and  his  daughter  could  not  but 
remember  all  the  gloomy  particulars  of  their  late,  and,  in 
deed,  of  their  present  position. 

"  We  seem  to  be  kept,  like  Mahomet's  coffin,  sir,"  Emily 
observed,  as  she  looked  affectionately  at  her  father,  "  sus 
pended  between  heaven  and  earth — the  Indies  and  America 
— not  knowing  on  which  we  are  to  alight.  The  Pacific  is 
our  air,  and  we  are  likely  to  breathe  it,  to  our  heart's  con 
tent." 

"  True,  love  —  your  comparison  is  not  an  unhappy  one. 
But,  Wallingfordj  what  has  become  of  Captain  Marble  in 
these  stirring  times  ?  You  have  not  left  him,  Sancho  Panza 
like,  to  govern  Barritaria,  while  you  have  come  to  recover 
his  ship  ?" 

I  told  my  passengers  of  the  manner  in  which  our  old 
friend  had  disappeared,  and  inquired  if  anything  had  been 
seen  of  the  whale-boat,  or  the  schooner,  on  the  night  of  the 
tropical  tempest. 

"  Nothing" — answered  the  Major.  "  So  far  from  expect 
ing  to  lay  eyes  on  the  *  Beautiful  Emily,'  again,  we  sup 
posed  you  would  be  off  for  Canton  by  the  end  of  the  fort 
night  that  succeeded  our  own  departure.  At  least,  that  was 
poor  Le  Compte's  version  of  the  matter.  I  am  certain 
however,  that  no  sail  was  seen  from  this  ship,  during  the 
whole  passage ;  nor,  had  we  any  storm  like  that  you  have 
described.  More  beautiful  weather,  I  never  met  at  sea." 

Upon  this,  I  sent  for  the  log-book,  and  ascertained,  by 
day  and  date,  that  the  Crisis  was  not  within  fifty  leagues 
of  the  spot,  where  we  encountered  the  thunder-squall.  Of 
course  the  ship  we  saw  was  a  stranger;  most  probably  a 
whaler.  This  destroyed  any  little  hope  that  was  left  con 
cerning  Marble's  fate. 

But  it  is  time  I  should  mention  a  galanterie  of  poor  Le 
Compte's.  He  was  well  provided  with  shipwrights — better, 
indeed,  than  with  seamen — as  was  apparent  by  the  readiness 


274  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

with  which  he  had  constructed  the  schooner.  During  the 
passage  from  Marble  Land,  he  had  set  these  workmen  about 
building  a  poop  on  the  Crisis'  quarter-deck,  and  I  found  the 
work  completed.  There  was  a  very  pretty,  airy  cabin, 
with  two  state-rooms  communicating  with  light  quarter-gal 
leries,  and  everything  that  is  customary  with  such  accommo 
dations.  Furniture  had  been  made,  with  French  dexterity 
and  taste,  and  the  paint  was  just  dry  to  receive  it.  Emily 
and  her  father  were  to  take  possession  of  these  new  accom 
modations  the  very  day  succeeding  that  in  which  the  ship 
fell  again  into  our  hands.  This  alteration  was  not  such  as 
I  would  have  made,  as  a  seaman ;  and  I  wonder  Mons.  Le 
Compte,  who  had  the  gauntlet  to  run  through  the  most  for 
midable  navy  in  the  world,  should  have  ventured  on  it,  since 
it  sensibly  affected  the  ship's  sailing  on  a  wind.  But,  now 
it  was  peace,  I  cared  little  about  it,  and  determined  to  let  it 
remain,  so  long,  at  least,  as  Miss  Merton  continued  on 
board. 

That  very  night,  therefore,  the  Major  occupied  one  of  the 
state-rooms,  and  his  daughter  the  other.  Imitating  poor 
Le  Compte's  gallantry,  I  gave  them  a  separate  table,  though 
I  took  quite  half  my  meals  with  them,  by  invitation.  Emily 
did  not  absolutely  dress  my  wound,  a  flesh  injury  in  the 
shoulder,  that  office  falling  to  her  father's  share,  who  had 
seen  a  good  deal  of  service,  and  was  familiar  with  the  gene 
ral  treatment  of  hurts  of  this  nature ;  but  she  could,  and 
did,  show  many  of  those  gentle  and  seductive  attentions,  that 
the  tenderness  of  her  sex  can  alone  bestow,  with  full  effect, 
on  man.  In  a  fortnight  my  hurt  was  cured,  though  Emily 
had  specifics  to  recommend,  and  advice  to  bestow,  until  we 
were  both  ashamed  to  allude  to  the  subject  any  longer. 

As  for  the  passage,  it  was  just  such  a  one  as  might  be 
expected  to  occur,  in  the  trades  of  the  Pacific.  The  ship 
was  under  studding-sails  nearly  the  whole  lime,  making, 
day  in  and  day  out,  from  a  hundred  and  twenty  to  two 
hundred  miles  in  the  twenty-four  hours.  The  mates  kept 
the  watches,  and  I  had  little  to  do,  but  to  sit  and  chat  with 
the  Major  and  his  daughter,  in  the  cool,  airy  cabin,  that  Le 
Compte  had  provided  for  us ;  listen  to  Emily's  piano,  which 
had  been  transferred  from  the  prize,  and  subsequently  saved 
from  the  wreck  ;  jr  read  aloud  out  of  some  of  the  two  or 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  275 

three  hundred  beautifully  bound,  and  sweetly-scented  vol 
umes  that  composed  her  library.  In  that  day,  people  read 
Pope,  and  Young,  and  Milton,  and  Shakspeare,  and  that 
sort  of  writers ;  a  little  relieved  by  Mrs.  RadclifTe,  and  Miss 
Burney,  and  Monk  Lewis,  perhaps.  As  for  Fielding  and 
Smollet,  they  were  well  enough  in  their  place,  which  was 
not  a  young  lady's  library,  however.  There  were  still 
more  useful  books,  and  I  believe  I  read  everything  in  the 
ship,  before  the  voyage  ended.  The  leisure  of  a  sea-life,  in 
a  tranquil,  well-ordered  vessel,  admits  of  much  study ;  and 
books  ought  to  be  a  leading  object  in  the  fitting  out  that 
portion  of  a  vessel's  equipment  which  relates  chiefly  to  the 
welfare  of  her  officers  and  crew. 

Time  passed  pleasantly  enough,  with  a  young  fellow  who 
had  certainly  some  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  his  own  suc 
cess  thus  far  in  life,  and  who  could  relieve  the  tedium  of 
ship's  duty  in  such  society.  I  cannot  say  I  was  in  love, 
though  I  often  thought  of  Emily  when  she  was  not  before 
my  eyes,  and  actually  dreamt  of  her  three  times,  in  the  first 
fortnight  after  the  re-capture  of  the  ship.  What  was  a  little 
remarkable,  as  I  conceive,  I  often  found  myself  drawing 
comparisons  between  her  and  Lucy,  though  I  hardly  knew 
why,  myself.  The  result  was  very  much  after  this  sort;  — 
Emily  had  vastly  the  advantage  in  all  that  related  to  art, 
instruction,  training — I  am  wrong,  Mr.  Harding  had  given 
his  daughter  a  store  of  precise,  useful  knowledge,  that  Emily 
did  not  possess  ,•  and  then  I  could  not  but  see  that  Lucy's 
tact  in  moral  feeling,  was  much  of  the  highest  order  of  the 
two.  But,  in  purely  conventional  attainments,  in  most 
that  relates  to  the  world,  its  usages,  its  finesse  of  feeling 
and  manner,  I  could  see  that  Emily  was  the  superior.  Had 
I  known  more  myself,  I  couM  have  seen  that  both  were  pro 
vincial  —  for  England,  in  1801,  was  but  a  province,  as  to 
mere  manners,  though  on  a  larger  scale  than  America  is 
even  now — and  that  either  would  have  been  remarked  for 
peculiarities,  in  the  more  sophisticated  circles  of  the  conti 
nent  of  Europe.  I  dare  say,  half  my  own  countrymen 
would  have  preferred  Lucy's  nature  to  the  more  artificial 
manner  of  Emily;  but,  it  will  not  do  to  say  that  even 
female  deportment,  however  delicate  and  feminine  nature 
may  have  made  it,  cannot  be  improved  by  certain  general 


276  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

rules  for  the  government  of  that  which  is  even  purely  con 
ventional.  On  the  whole,  1  wished  that  Lucy  had  a  little 
of  Emily's  art,  and  Emily  a  good  deal  more  of  Lucy's  na 
ture.  I  suppose  the  perfection  in  this  sort  of  thing  is  to 
possess  an  art  so  admirable  that  it  shall  appear  to  be  nature, 
in  all  things  knmaterial,  while  it  leaves  the  latter  strictly  in 
the  ascendant,  in  all  that  is  material. 

In  person,  I  sometimes  fancied  Emily  was  the  superior , 
and,  sometimes,  when  memory  carried  me  back  to  certain 
scenes  that  had  occurred  during  my  last  visit  toClawbonny, 
that  it  was  Lucy.  In  complexion,  and  perhaps  in  eyes,  the 
English  girl  beat  her  rival ;  possibly,  also,  in  the  teeth ; 
though  Lucy's  were  very  even  and  white  ;  but,  in  the  smile, 
in  the  outline  of  the  face,  most  especially  in  the  mouth,  and 
in  the  hands,  feet,  and  person  generally,  I  think  nine  judges 
in  ten  would  have  preferred  the  American.  One  peculiar 
charm  was  common  to  both ;  and  it  is  a  charm,  though  the 
strongest  instance  I  ever  saw  of  it  in  my  life,  was  in  Italy, 
that  may  be  said  to  belong,  almost  exclusively,  to  the  An 
glo-Saxon  race:  I  mean  that  expression  of  the  countenance 
which  so  eminently  betokens  feminine  purity  and  feminine 
tenderness  united ;  the  look  which  artists  love  to  impart  to 
the  faces  of  angels.  Each  of  the  girls  had  much  of  this ; 
and  I  suppose  it  was  principally  owing  to  their  heavenly 
blue  eyes.  I  doubt  if  any  woman  with  black,  or  hazel  eyes, 
notwithstanding  all  the  brilliancy  of  their  beauty,  ever  pos 
sessed  this  charm  in  the  higher  degree.  It  belonged  to  Grace 
even  more  than  to  Lucy  or  Emily  ;  though,  of  the  two  last, 
I  think  the  English  girl  possessed  it,  in  a  slight  degree,  the 
most,  so  far  as  it  was  connected  with  mere  shading  and 
colour ;  while  the  American  exhibited  the  most  of  it,  in 
moments  of  feeling  and  emotion.  Perhaps,  this  last  advan 
tage  was  owing  to  Lucy's  submitting  most  to  nature,  and  to 
her  impulses.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  I  had 
not  seen  Lucy,  now,  for  near  two  years ;  and  two  of  *he 
most  important  years  of  a  young  female's  life,  as  respected 
her  personal  appearance. 

As  relates  to  character,  I  will  not  now  speak  as  plainly 
ns  I  shall  be  called  on  to  do,  hereafter.  A  youth  of  twenty 
is  not  the  best  judge  of  such  things,  and  I  shall  leave  events 
to  tell  their  own  story,  in  this  particular. 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  277 

We  had  been  at  sea  a  fortnight,  when  happening  to  allude 
to  the  pearl  fishery,  I  bethought  me  of  my  own  prizes.  A 
ship  that  carries  a  numerous  crew,  is  a  sort  of  omnium 
gatherum  of  human  employments.  For  ordinarily  manned 
craft,  seamen  are  necessary ;  but  ships  of  war,  privateers 
and  letters-of-marque,  can  afford,  as  poor  Marble  would  ex 
press  it,  to  generalize.  We  had  several  tradesmen  in  the 
Crisis — mechanics,  who  found  the  restraints  of  a  ship  neces 
sary  for  their  own  good — and,  among  others,  we  happened 
to  have  a  goldsmith.  This  man  had  offered  to  perforate  my 
pearls,  and  to  string  them ;  an  operation  to  which  I  con 
sented.  The  fellow  had  performed  his  task  as  well  as  could 
be  desired,  and  supplying  from  his  own  stores  a  pair  of 
suitable  clasps,  had  formed  the  whole  into  a  simple,  but  as 
beautiful  a  necklace,  as  I  ever  laid  eyes  on.  He  had  put  the 
largest  pearl  of  all  directly  in  the  centre,  and  then  arranged 
the  remainder,  by  placing  several  of  the  smaller  together 
separated  by  one  of  the  second  size,  until  the  whole  formed 
a  row  that  would  much  more  than  encircle  my  own  neck, 
and  which,  of  course,  would  drop  gracefully  round  that  of  a 
female. 

When  I  produced  this  beautiful  ornament,  one  that  a 
woman  of  rank  might  have  coveted,  Emily  did  not  endea 
vour  to  conceal  her  admiration.  Unaccustomed,  herself,  to 
the  higher  associations  of  her  own  country,  she  had  never 
seen  a  necklace  of  the  same  value,  and  she  even  fancied  it 
fit  for  a  queen.  Doubtless,  queens  usually  possess  much 
more  precious  pearls  than  those  of  mine,  and  yet  it  was  to 
be  supposed  they  would  not  disdain  to  wear  even  such  as 
they.  Major  Merton  examined  the  necklace  carefully,  and 
I  could  see  by  his  countenance,  he  was  surprised  and  pleased. 

On  the  whole,  I  think  it  may  be  questioned,  if  any  other 
man  enjoys  as  many  physical  advantages  with  the  same 
means,  as  the  Americans.  I  speak  more  of  his  habits,  than 
of  his  opportunities ;  but  I  am  of  opinion,  after  seeing  a 
good  deal  of  various  parts  of  the  world,  that  the  American 
of  moderate  fortune  has  more  physical  indulgencies  than 
any  other  man.  While  this  is  true,  however,  as  a  whole, 
there  are  certain  points  on  which  he  signally  fails.  He  fails 
often,  when  it  comes  to  the  mere  outward  exhibition  ;  and  it 
is  prol/able  there  is  not  a  single  well-ordered  household — 
24 


278  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

meaning  for  the  purposes  of  comfort  and  representation 
united  —  in  the  whole  country.  The  particular  deficiency, 
if  deficiency  it  be,  applies  in  an  almost  exclusive  degree  to 
the  use  of  precious  stones,  jewelry,  and  those  of  the  more 
valuable  metals  in  general.  The  ignorance  of  the  value  of 
precious  stones  is  so  great,  that  half  the  men,  meaning  those 
who  possess  more  or  less  of  fortune,  do  not  even  know  the 
names  of  those  of  the  commoner  sorts.  I  doubt,  if  one  edu 
cated  American  in  twenty  could,  even  at  this  moment,  tell  a 
sapphire  from  an  amethyst,  or  a  torquoise  from  a  garnet ; 
though  the  women  are  rather  more  expert  as  lapidaries. 
Now,  I  was  a  true  American  in  this  respect ;  and,  while  I 
knew  I  possessed  a  very  beautiful  ornament,  I  had  not  the 
smallest  idea  of  its  value,  as  an  article  of  commerce.  With 
the  Major  it  was  different.  He  had  studied  such  things, 
and  he  had  a  taste  for  them.  The  reader  will  judge  of  my 
surprise,  therefore,  when  I  heard  him  say : — 

"  That  necklace,  in  the  hands  of  Rundle  and  Bridges, 
would  bring  a  thousand  pounds,  in  London !" 

"  Father !"  exclaimed  Emily. 

"  I  do  think  it.  It  is  not  so  much  the  size  of  the  pearls, 
though  these  largest  are  not  common  even  in  that  particu 
lar,  but  it  is  their  extreme  beauty ;  their  colour  and  trans 
parency — their  water,  as  it  is  called." 

"  I  thought  that  a  term  applied  only  to  diamonds" — ob 
served  Emily,  with  an  interest  I  wished  she  had  not  mani 
fested. 

"  It  is  also  applied  to  pearls — there  are  pearls  of  what  is 
called  the  *  white  water,'  and  they  are  of  the  sort  most 
prized  in  Europe.  The  '  yellow  water'  are  more  esteemed 
among  nations  of  darker  skins  ;  I  suppose  that  is  the  secret. 
Yes,  I  think  if  you  send  this  necklace  to  London,  Walling- 
ford,  you  will  get  six  or  eight  hundred  pounds  for  it." 

"  I  shall  never  sell  it,  sir — at  least,  not  as  long  as  I  can 
avoid  it." 

I  saw  that  Emily  looked  at  me,  with  an  earnestness  for 
which  I  could  not  account. 

"  Not  sell  it !— "  repealed  her  father—''-  Why,  what  in  the 
name  of  Neptune  can  you  do  with  such  an  ornament?" 

"  Keep  it.  It  is  strictly  my  own.  I  brought  it  up,  from 
the  bottom  of  the  sea,  with  mv  own  hands ;  removed  the 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  279 

pearls  from  what  the  editors  would  call  their  *  native 
homes'  myself,  and  I  feel  an  interest  in  them,  that  I  never 
could  feel  in  any  ornament  that  was  purchased." 

"  Still,  this  will  prove  rather  an  expensive  taste.  Pray, 
what  interest  do  you  obtain  for  money,  in  your  part  of  the 
world,  Wallingford?" 

"  Six  per  cent.,  in  New  York,  sir,  perhaps,  on  the  better 
sort  of  permanent  securities." 

"  And  how  much  is  sixty  pounds  sterling,  when  turned 
into  dollars  ?" 

"  We  usually  say  five  for  one,  though  it  is  not  quite  that  ; 
from  two  hundred  and  eighty  to  two  hundred  and  ninety,  all 
things  considered — though  two  hundred  and  sixty-six,  no 
minally,  or  thereabouts." 

"  Well,  even  two  hundred  and  sixty-six  dollars  a  year,  is 
a  good  deal  for  a  young  man  like  you  to  pay,  for  the  plea 
sure  of  saying  he  owns  a  pearl  necklace  that  he  cannot 
use." 

"  But  it  cost  me  nothing,  sir,  and  of  course  I  can  lose 
nothing  by  it." 

"  I  rather  think  you  will  lose  what  I  tell  you,  if  the  orna 
ment  can  be  sold  for  that  sum.  When  a  man  has  property 
from  which  he  might  derive  an  income,  and  does  not,  he  is, 
in  one  sense,  and  that  the  most  important,  a  loser." 

"  I  have  a  sister,  Major  Merton  ;  I  may  possibly  give  it 
to  her — or,  should  I  marry,  I  would  certainly  give  it  to  my 
wife." 

I  could  see  a  smile  struggling  about  the  mouth  of  the 
major,  which  I  was  then  too  young,  and  I  may  add,  too 
American,  to  understand.  The  incongruity  of  the  wife  of  a 
man  of  two  thousand,  or  five  and  twenty  hundred  dollars 
a-year,  wearing  two  years'  income  round  her  neck,  or  of 
being  magnificent  in  only  one  item  of  her  dress,  household, 
or  manner  of  living,  never  occurred  to  my  mind.  We  can 
all  laugh  when  we  read  of  Indian  chiefs  wearing  uniform- 
coats,  and  cocked-hats,  without  any  other  articles  of  attire  ; 
but  we  cannot  imagine  inconsistencies  in  our  own  cases, 
that  are  almost  as  absurd  in  the  eyes  of  highly  sophisticated 
and  conventional  usages.  To  me,  at  that  age,  there  was 
nothing  in  the  least  out  of  the  way,  in  Mrs.  Miles  Walling- 
ford's  wearing  the  necklace,  her  husband  being  unequivo- 


280  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

cally  its  owner.  As  for  Emily,  she  did  not  smile,  but  con 
tinued  to  hold  the  necklace  in  her  own  very  white,  plump 
hand,  the  pearls  making  the  hand  look  all  the  prettier, 
while  the  hand  assisted  to  increase  the  lustre  of  the  pearls. 
I  ventured  to  ask  her  to  put  the  necklace  on  her  neck.  She 
blushed  slightly,  but  she  complied. 

"  Upon  my  word,  Emily,"  exclaimed  the  gratified  father, 
"  you  become  each  other  so  well,  that  I  am  losing  a  preju 
dice,  and  begin  to  believe  even  a  poor  man's  daughter  may 
be  justified  in  using  such  an  ornament." 

The  sight  was  certainly  sufficient  to  justify  anything  of 
the  sort.  The  dazzling  whiteness  of  Miss  Merton's  skin, 
the  admirable  outlines  of  her  throat  and  bust,  and  the  flush 
which  pleasure  gave  her  cheeks,  contributed  largely  to  the 
beauty  of  the  picture.  It  would  have  been  difficult  to  say, 
whether  the  charms  of  the  woman  ornamented  the  pearls, 
or  those  of  the  pearls  ornamented  the  woman  !  I  remember 
I  thought,  at  the  time,  my  eyes  had  never  dwelt  on  any 
object  more  pleasing,  than  was  Miss  Merton  during  the 
novelty  of  that  spectacle.  Nor  did  the  pleasure  cease,  on 
the  instant ;  for  I  begged  her  to  continue  to  wear  the  neck 
lace  during  the  remainder  of  the  day  ;  a  request  with  which 
she  had  the  good  nature  to  comply.  Which  was  most 
gratified  by  this  exhibition,  the  young  lady  or  myself,  it 
might  be  difficult  to  say  ;  for  there  is  a  mutual  satisfaction 
in  admiring,  and  in  being  admired. 

When  I  went  into  the  cabin  to  say  good-night,  I  found 
Emily  Merton,  with  the  necklace  in  her  hand,  gazing  at  it, 
by  the  light  of  a  powerful  lamp,  with  eyes  as  liquid  and  soft 
as  the  pearls  themselves.  I  stood  still  to  admire  her ;  for 
never  before  had  I  seen  her  so  bewitchingly  beautiful.  Her 
counienance  was  usually  a  little  wanting  in  intellectual  ex 
pression,  though  it  possessed  so  much  of  that  which  I  have 
described  as  angelic  ;  but,  on  this  occasion,  it  seemed  to  we, 
to  be  full  of  ideas.  Can  it  be  possible,  whispered  conceit— 
and  what  very  young  man  is  entirely  free  from  it  —  can  it 
be  possible,  she  is  now  thinking  how  happy  a  woman  Mrs. 
Miles  Wallingford  will  one  day  be  ? — Am  I  in  any  manner 
connected  with  that  meditating  brow,  that  reflecting  air,  that 
fixed  look,  that  pleased  and  yet  doubting  expression  ? 

"  I  was  about   to   send   for   you,  Captain  Wallingford,' 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  281 

Baid  Emily,  the  instant  she  saw  me,  and  confirming  my 
conceited  .conjectures,  by  blushing  deeper  than  I  had  seen 
her  before,  in  the  whole  of  that  blushing,  sensitive,  and 
enjoyable  day  ;  "  about  to  send  for  you,  to  take  charge  of 
your  treasure." 

"  And  could  you  not  assume  that  much  responsibility,  for 
a  single  night?" 

"  *T  would  be  too  great  —  it  is  an  honour  reserved  for 
Mrs.  Wallingford,  you  know." 

This  was  smilingly  said,  I  fancied  sweetly  and  kindly, 
and  yet  it  was  said  not  altogether  without  something  that 
approached  to  an  equivoque  ;  a  sort  of  manner  that  the  deep, 
natural  feeling  of  Grace,  and  needle-like  truth  of  Lucy  had 
rendered  unpleasant  to  me.  I  took  the  necklace,  shook  the 
young  lady's  hand  for  good-night — we  always  did  that,  on 
meeting  and  parting  for  the  day — paid  my  compliments  to 
the  father,  and  withdrew. 

I  was  dressing  next  morning,  when  Neb  came  bolting 
into  my  state-room,  with  his  Clawbonny  freedom  of  manner, 
his  eyes  looking  lobsters,  and  his  necklace  of  pearl,  glitter 
ing  between  a  pair  of  lips  that  might  have  furnished  a  can 
nibal  two  famous  steaks.  As  soon  as  fairly  established  in 
command,  I  had  brought  the  fellow  aft,  berthing  him  in  the 
steerage,  in  order  to  have  the  benefit  of  more  of  his  personal 
service  than  I  could  obtain  while  he  was  exclusively  a 
foremast  Jack.  Still,  he  kept  his  watch  ;  for  it  would  have 
been  cruel  to  deprive  him  of  that  pleasure. 

"  Oh  !  Masser  Mile  !"  exclaimed  the  black,  as  soon  as  he 
could  speak ;  "  'e  boat ! — 'e  boat !" 

"  What  of  the  boat  ?— Is  any  one  overboard  ?" 

"  ?E  whale-boat,  sir  !  — Poor  Captain  Marble — 'e  whale- 
boat,  sir  !" 

"  I  understand  you,  Neb  —  go  on  deck,  and  desire  the 
officer  of  the  watch  to  heave-to  the  ship,  as  soon  as  it  is  pro 
per;  I  will  come  up,  the  instant  I  can." 

Here,  then,  I  thought,  Providence  has  brought  us  on  the 
track  of  the  unfortunate  whale-boat ;  and  we  shall  doubtless 
see  the  mutilated  remains  of  some  of  our  old  companions — 
poor  Marble,  doubtless,  from  what  Neb  said — well,  the  will 
of  God  be  done.  I  was  soon  dressed ;  and,  as  I  went  up 
the  cabm-ladder,  the  movement  on  deck  denoted  the  nature 
24  * 


282  AFLOAT     AND      A.  SHORE. 

of  the  excitement  that  now  prevailed  generally,  in  the  ship. 
Just  as  I  reached  the  quarter-deck,  the  main-yard  swung 
round,  and  the  sails  were  brought  aback.  The  w"hole  crew 
was  in  commotion,  and  it  was  some  little  lime  before  I  could 
learn  the  cause. 

The  morning  was  misty,  and  the  view  round  the  ship, 
until  within  a  few  minutes,  had  been  confined  to  a  circle  of 
less  than  a  mile  in  diameter.  As  the  sun  rose,  however, 
the  mist  broke  away  gradually,  and  then  the  watch  caught 
a  view  of  the  whale-boat  mentioned  by  Neb.  Instead  of 
being  floating  about  on  the  ocean,  with  the  remains  of  its 
unfortunate  crew  lying  in  its  bottom,  as  I  had  expected  to 
see  it,  when  I  caught  the  first  glimpse  of  the  unlooked-for 
object,  it  was  not  a  mile  distant,  pulling  briskly  for  us,  and 
containing  not  only  a  full,  but  a  strong  and  an  animated 
crew. 

Just  at  that  instant,  some  one  cried  out  "  Sail-ho  !"  and 
sure  enough,  a  ship  was  seen  some  four  or  five  miles  to  lee 
ward,  a  whaler  evidently,  turning  to  windward,  under  easy 
canvass,  in  order  to  rejoin  her  boat,  from  which  she  had 
lately  been  separated  by  the  night  and  the  fog.  This,  then, 
was  no  more  than  a  whaler  and  her  boat ;  and,  on  sweeping 
the  horizon  with  a  glass,  Talcott  soon  discovered,  a  mile  to 
windward  of  the  boat,  a  dead  whale,  with  another  boat 
lying  by  it,  in  waiting  for  the  approach  of  the  ship,  which 
promised  to  fetch  as  far  to  windward,  on  its  next  tack. 

"  They  desire  to  speak  us,  I  suppose,  Mr.  Talcott,"  I  re 
marked.  "  The  ship  is  probably  an  American ;  it  is  likely 
the  captain  is  in  the  boat,  and  he  wishes  to  send  letters  or 
messages  home." 

A  shout  came  from  Talcott,  at  the  next  instant — then  he 
cried  out — 

"  Three  cheers,  my  lads ;  I  see  Captain  Marble  in  that 
boat,  as  plainly  as  I  see  the  boat  itself!" 

The  cheers  that  followed,  were  a  spontaneous  burst  of 
joy.  They  reached  the  approaching  boat,  and  gave  its 
inmate  an  earnest  of  his  reception.  In  three  more  minutes, 
Marble  was  on  the  deck  of  his  old  ship.  For  myself,  I  was 
unable  to  speak  ;  nor  was  poor  Marble  much  better  off 
though  more  prepared  for  the  interview. 

"  I   knew   you,  Miles ;    I   knew    you,   and   the   bloody 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  283 

« Pretty  Poll,' "  he  at  last  got  out,  the  tears  running  down 
his  cheeks  like  water,  "  the  moment  the  fog  lifted,  and  gave 

me  a  fair  glimpse.     They've  got  her — yes — d n  her — 

God  bless  her,  I  mean — they've  got  her,  and  the  bloody 
Frenchmen  will  not  go  home  with  that  feather  in  their  caps. 
Well,  it  couldn't  have  happened  to  a  cleverer  fellow  ;  and 
I  'm  just  as  happy  as  if  I  had  done  it  myself !" 

There  he  stood,  sound,  safe,  and  sturdy  as  ever  ;  and  the 
four  Sandwich  Islanders  were  all  in  the  boat,  just  as  well  as 
if  they  had  never  quitted  the  ship.  Every  man  of  the  crew 
had  to  shake  hands  with  Marble,  congratulations  were  to  be 
exchanged,  and  a  turbulent  quarter  of  an  hour  passed,  be 
fore  it  was  possible  to  get  a  coherent  account  from  the  man 
of  what  had  befallen  him.  As  soon  as  practicable,  how 
ever,  he  motioned  for  silence,  and  told  his  own  story  aloud, 
for  the  benefit  of  all  hands. 

"  You  know  how  I  left  you,  men,"  Marble  commenced, 
swabbing  his  eyes  and  cheeks,  and  struggling  to  speak  with 
something  like  an  appearance  of  composure, "  and  the  errand 
on  which  I  went.  The  last  I  saw  of  you  was  about  half  an 
hour  before  the  gust  broke.  At  that  time  I  was  so  near  the 
ship,  as  to  make  out  she  was  a  whaler ;  and,  nothing  doubt 
ing  of  being  in  sight  of  you  in  the  morning,  I  thought  it  safer 
to  pull  alongside  of  Aer,  than  to  try  to  hunt  for  the  schooner 
in  the  dark.  I  found  an  old  shipmate  in  the  whaler's  cap 
tain,  who  was  looking  for  a  boat  that  had  struck  adrift  the 
night  before ;  and  both  parties  were  pleased.  There  was 
not  much  time  for  compliments,  however,  as  you  all  know. 
The  ship  bore  up  to  speak  you,  and  then  she  bore  up,  again 
and  again,  on  account  of  the  squalls.  While  Mr.  Walling- 
ford  was  probably  hugging  the  wind  in  order  to  find  me, 
we  were  running  off  to  save  our  spars ;  and  next  morning 
we  could  see  nothing  of  you.  How  else  we  missed  each 
other,  is  more  than  I  can  say ;  for  I  've  no  idee  you  went 

off  and  left  me  out  here,  in  the  middle  of  the  ocean " 

'*  We  cruised  for  you,  within  five  miles  of  the  spot,  for  a 
whole  day !"  I  exclaimed,  eagerly. 

"No,  no — Captain  Marble,"'the  men  put  in,  in  a  body, 
'  we  did  all  that  men  could  do,  to  find  you.'5* 
"  I  know  it !     I  could  swear  to  it,  without  a  word  from 


284  AFLOAT      AND      ASH  ORB. 

one  of  you.  Well,  that's  the  whole  story.  We  could  not 
find  you,  and  I  stuck  by  the  ship  as  a  matter  of  course,  as 
there  was  no  choice  between  that  and  jumping  overboard ; 
and  here  has  the  Lord  brought  us  together  again,  though 
we  are  every  inch  of  five  hundred  miles  from  the  place 
where  we  parted." 

I  then  took  Marble  below,  and  related  to  him  all  that  had 
occurred  since  the  separation.  He  listened  with  the  deepest 
interest,  manifesting  the  strongest  sympathy  in  our  success. 
Nothing  but  expressions  of  gratification  escaped  him,  until  I 
remarked,  as  I  concluded  my  account — 

"  And  here  is  the  old  ship  for  you,  sir,  just  as  we  lost 
her ;  and  glad  am  I  to  see  her  once  more  in  so  good  hands." 

"  Who  put  that  bloody  poop  on  her,  you  or  the  French 
man,  Miles?" 

"  The  Frenchman.  Now  it  is  peace,  however,  it  is  no 
great  matter ;  and  the  cabin  is  very  convenient  for  the  Major 
and  his  daughter." 

'*  It 's  just  like  'em  !  Spoiling  the  neatest  quarter-deck  on 
the  ocean,  with  a  bloody  supernumerary  cabin !" 

"  Well,  sir,  as  you  are  master  now,  you  can  have  it  all 
cut  away  again,  if  you  think  proper." 

"  I !  I  cut  away  anything  !  I  take  the  command  of  this 
ship  from  the  man  who  has  so  fairly  won  it !  If  I  do,  may 
I  be  d d  !" 

"  Captain  Marble !  You  astonish  me  by  this  language, 
sir ;  but  it  is  nothing  more  than  a  momentary  feeling,  of 
which  your  own  good  sense — nay,  even  your  duty  to  the 
owners — will  cause  you  to  get  rid." 

"  You  never  were  more  mistaken  in  your  life,  Master 
Miles  Wallingford,"  answered  Marble,  solemnly.  "  I  thought 
of  all  this  the  moment  I  recognised  the  ship,  and  that  was 
as  soon  as  I  saw  her ;  and  my  mind  was  made  up  from  that 
instant.  I  cannot  be  so  mean  as  to  come  in  at  the  seventh 
hour,  and  profit  by  your  courage  and  skill.  Besides,  I  have 
no  legal  right  to  command  here.  The  ship  was  more  than 
twenty-four  hours  in  the  enemy's  hands,  and  she  comes 
under  the  usual  laws  of  recapture  and  salvage." 

"  But  the  oVners,  Captain  Marble — remember  there  is  a 
cargo  to  be  taken  in  at  Canton,  and  there  are  heavy  interests 
at  stake." 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  285 

"  By  George,  that  would  make  me  so  much  the  more  firm. 
From  *he  first,  I  have  thought  matters  would  be  better  in 
your  liands  than  mine;  you  have  an  edication,  and  that's  a 
wonderful  thing,  Miles.  As  to  sailing  a  ship,  or  stowing 
her,  or  taking  care  of  her  in  heavy  weather,  or  finding  my 
way  across  an  ocean,  I  '11  turn  my  back  on  no  man  ;  but 
it 's  a  different  thing  when  it  comes  to  figures  and  calcula 
tions." 

"  You  disappoint  me  greatly  in  all  this,  sir ;  we  have  gone 
through  so  much  together " 

"  VVe  did  not  go  through  the  recapture  of  this  vessel  to 
gether,  boy." 

"  But  it  was  your  thought,  and,  but  for  an  accident,  would 
have  been  your  deed." 

"  I  don't  know  that ;  I  have  reflected  coolly  in  the  matter, 
after  I  got  over  my  mortification ;  and  1  think  we  should 
have  been  flogged,  had  we  attacked  the  French  at  sea.  Your 
own  plan  was  better,  and  capitally  carried  out.  Harkee, 
Miles,  this  much  will  I  do,  and  not  a  jot  more.  You  are 
bound  to  the  island,  I  take  it  for  granted,  to  pick  up  odds 
and  ends  ;  and  then  you  sail  for  Canton  ?" 

"  Precisely — I  am  glad  you  approve  of  it,  as  you  must  by 
seeing  into  it  so  readily." 

"  Well,  at  the  island,  fill  up  the  schooner  with  such  arti 
cles  as  will  be  of  no  use  at  Canton.  Let  her  take  in  the 
copper,  the  English  goods,  and  the  like  of  that ;  and  I  will 
carry  her  home,  while  you  can  pursue  the  v'y'ge  in  the 
ship,  as  you  alone  have  a  right  to  do." 

No  arguments  of  mine  could  turn  Marble  from  his  reso 
lution.  I  fought  him  all  day  on  the  subject,  and  at  night 
he  was  put  in  command  of  the  "  Pretty  Poll,"  with  our  old 
second-mate  for  his  first  officer. 


286  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 

*  Thou  shalt  seek  the  beach  of  sand, 
Where  the  water  bounds  the  elfin  land ; 
Thou  shalt  watch  the  oozy  brine 
Till  the  sturgeon  leaps  in  the  light  moonshine." 

DRAKE. 

THERE  is  but  a  word  to  say  of  the  whaler.  We  spoke 
her,  of  course,  and  parted,  leaving  her  her  boat.  She 
passed  half  an  hour,  close  to  us,  and  then  went  after  her 
whale.  When  we  lost  sight  of  her,  she  was  cutting  in  the 
fish,  as  coolly  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  As  for  our 
selves,  we  made  the  best  of  our  way  for  the  island. 

Nothing  worth  relating  occurred  during  the  remainder  of 
the  passage.  We  reached  our  place  of  destination  ten  days 
after  we  found  Marble ;  and  carried  both  the  ship  and 
schooner  into  the  lagoon,  without  any  hesitation  or  difficulty. 
Everything  was  found  precisely  as  we  had  left  it;  two 
months  having  passed  as  quietly  as  an  hour.  The  tents 
were  standing,  the  different  objects  lay  where  they  had  been 
hastily  dropped  at  our  hurried  departure,  and  everything 
denoted  the  unchangeable  character  of  an  unbroken  solitude. 
Time  and  the  seasons  could  alone  have  produced  any  sensi 
ble  alteration.  Even  the  wreck  had  neither  shifted  her  bed, 
nor  suffered  injury.  There  she  lay,  seemingly  an  immova 
ble  fixture  on  the  rocks,  and  as  likely  to  last,  as  any  other 
of  the  durable  things  around  her. 

It  is  always  a  relief  to  escape  from  the  confinement  of  a 
ship,  even  if  it  be  only  to  stroll  along  the  vacant  sands  of 
some  naked  beach.  As  soon  as  the  vessels  were  secured, 
we  poured  ashore  in  a  body,  and  the  people  were  given  a 
holiday.  There  was  no  longer  an  enemy  to  apprehend ; 
and  we  all  enjoyed  the  liberty  of  movement,  and  the  free 
dom  from  care  that  accompanied  our  peculiar  situation. 
Some  prepared  lines  and  commenced  fishing  ;  others  hauled 
the  seine  ;  while  the  less  industriously  disposed  lounged 
about,  selected  the  fruit  of  the  cocoa-nut  tree,  or  hunted  for 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  287 

shells,  of  which  there  were  many,  and  those  extremely 
beautiful,  scattered  along  the  inner  and  outer  beaches,  or 
lying,  visible,  just  within  the  wash  of  the  water.  I  ordered 
two  or  three  of  the  hands  to  make  a  collection  for  Claw- 
bonny  ;  paying  them,  as  a  matter  of  course,  for  their  extra 
services.  Their  success  was  great ;  and  I  still  possess  the 
fruits  of  their  search,  as  memorials  of  my  youthful 
adventures. 

Emily  and  her  maid  took  possession  of  their  old  tents, 
neither  of  which  had  been  disturbed  ;  and  I  directed  that 
the  necessary  articles  of  furniture  should  be  landed  for  their 
use.  As  we  intended  to  remain  eight  or  ten  days  at  Marble 
Land,  there  was  a  general  disposition  to  make  ourselves 
comfortable ;  and  the  crew  were  permitted  to  bring  such 
things  ashore  as  they  desired,  care  being  had  for  the  neces*- 
sary  duties  of  the  ships.  Since  quitting  London,  we  had 
been  prisoners,  with  the  short  interval  of  our  former  visit  to 
this  place,  and  it  was  now  deemed  wisest  to  give  the  people 
a  little  relaxation.  To  all  this,  I  was  advised  by  Marble ; 
who,  though  a  severe,  and  so  often  seemingly  an  obdurate 
man,  was  in  the  main  disposed  to  grant  as  much  indulgence, 
at  suitable  moments,  as  any  officer  I  ever  sailed  with.  There 
was  an  ironical  severity,  at  times,  about  the  man,  which 
misled  superficial  observers.  I  have  heaj-d  of  a  waggish 
boatswain  in  the  navy,  who,  when  disposed  to  menace  tho 
crew  with  some  of  his  official  visitations,  used  to  cry  out, 
"  Fellow-citizens,  I  'm  coming  among  you  ;"  and  the  anec 
dote  never  recurs  to  my  mind,  without  bringing  Marble  back 
to  my  recollection.  When  in  spirits,  he  had  much  of  this 
bitter  irony  in  his  manner ;  and  his  own  early  experience 
had  rendered  him  somewhat  insensible  to  professional  suf- 
fering ;  but,  on  the  whole,  I  always  thought  him  a  humane 
man. 

We  went  into  the  lagoon,  before  the  sun  had  risen ;  and 
before  the  breakfast  hour  of  those  who  lived  aft,  we  had 
everything  landed  that  was  necessary,  and  were  in  posses 
sion  of  our  tents.  I  had  ordered  Neb  to  attend  particularly 
to  the  wants  of  the  Mertons ;  and,  precisely  as  the  bell  of 
»hn  ship  struck  eight,  which,  at  that  time  of  day,  meant  eight 
o'clock,  the  black  came  with  the  major's  compliments,  in- 


288  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

viting  "  Captain"  Wallingford  and  "  Captain"  Marble  to 
breakfast. 

"  So  it  goes,  Miles,"  added  my  companion,  after  promis 
ing  to  join  the  party  in  a  few  moments.  "  This  arrange 
ment  about  the  schooner  leaves  us  both  captains,  and  pre 
vents  anything  like  your  downhill  work,  which  is  always 
unpleasant  business.  Captain  Marble  and  Captain  Wal 
lingford  sound  well ;  and  I  hope  they  may  long  sail  in 
company.  But  natur'  or  art  never  meant  me  for  a 
captain." 

"  Well,  admitting  this,  where  there  are  two  captains,  one 
must  outrank  the  other,  and  the  senior  commands.  You 
should  be  called  Commodore  Marble." 

"  None  of  your  pleasantry,  Miles,"  returned  Marble,  with 
a  severe  look  and  a  shake  of  the  head ;  **  it  is  by  your  fa 
vour,  and  I  hope  by  your  good  opinion,  that  I  am  master 
of  even  that  little,  half-blooded,  part  French,  part  Yankee, 
schooner.  It  is  my  second,  and  I  think  it  will  be  my  last 
command.  I  have  generalized  over  my  life,  upon  a  large 
scale,  within  the  last  ten  days,  and  have  come  to  the  con 
clusion  that  the  Lord  created  me  to  be  your  mate,  and  not 
you  to  be  mine.  When  natur'  means  a  man  for  anything 
partic'lar,  she  doesn't  set  him  adrift  among  human  beings, 
as  I  was  set  adrift." 

"  I  do  not  understand  you,  sir — perhaps  you  will  give  me 
an  outline  of  your  history ;  and  then  all  will  be  plain." 

"  Miles,  oblige  me  in  one  particular  —  it  will  cost  you  no 
great  struggle,  and  will  considerably  relieve  my  mind." 

"  You  have  only  to  name  it,  sir,  to  be  certain  it  will  be 
done." 

"  Drop  that  bloody  sir,  then  ;  it  's  unbecoming  now,  as 
between  you  and  me.  Call  me  Marble,  or  Moses  ;  as  I  call 
you,  Miles." 

"  Well,  be  it  so.  Now  for  this  history  of  yours,  which 
you  have  promised  to  give  me,  by  the  way,  any  time  these 
two  years." 

"  It  can  be  told  in  a  few  words  ;  and  I  hope  it  may  be  of 
service.  A  human  life,  properly  generalized  on,  is  at  any 
time  as  good  as  most  sermons.  It  is  full  of  what  I  call  the 
morality  of  idees.  I  suppose  you  know  to  what  I  owe  my 
names  ?" 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  289 

"  Not  I — to  your  sponsors  in  baptism,  like  all  the  rest  of 
us,  I  suppose." 

"  You  *re  nearer  the  truth  than  you  may  imagine,  this 
time,  boy.  1  was  found,  a  child  of  a  week  old,  they  tell  me, 
lying  in  a  basket,  one  pleasant  morning,  in  a  stone-cutter's 
yard,  on  the  North  River  side  of  the  town,  placed  upon  a 
bit  of  stone  that  was  hewing  out  for  the  head  of  a  grave, 
in  order,  as  1  suppose,  that  the  workmen  would  be  sure  to 
find  me,  when  they  mustered  at  their  work.  Although  I 
have  passed  for  a  down-easter,  having  sailed  in  their  craft 
in  the  early  part  of  my  life,  I  'm  in  truth  York  born." 

"  And  is  tnis  all  you  know  of  your  origin,  my  dear 
Marble  V 

4<  AH  I  want  to  know,  after  such  a  hint.  A  man  is  never 
anxious  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  parents  who  are  afraid 
to  own  him.  I  dare  say,  now,  Miles,  that  you  knew,  and 
loved,  and  respected  your  mother  ?" 

"  Love,  and  respect  her  !  I  worshipped  her,  Marble  ;  and 
she  deserved  it  all,  if  ever  human  being  did  P* 

"  Yes,  yes ;  I  can  understand  that"  returned  Marble, 
making  a  hole  in  the  sand  with  his  heel,  and  looking  both 
thoughtful  and  melancholy.  "  It  must  be  a  great  comfort 
to  love  and  respect  a  mother  !  I  'ye  seen  them,  particularly 
young  women,  that  I  thought  set  quite  as  much  store  by 
their  mothers,  as  they  did  by  themselves.  Well,  no  matter  ; 
I  got  into  one  of  poor  Captain  Robbins's  bloody  currents  at 
the  first  start,  and  have  been  drifting  about  ever  since,  just 
like  the  whale-boat  with  which  we  fell  in,  pretty  much  as 
the  wind  blew.  They  hadn't  the  decency  to  pin  even  a 
name — they  might  have  got  one  out  of  a  novel  or  a  story 
book,  you  know,  to  start  a  poor  fellow  in  life  with — to  my 
sh/rt ;  no  —  they  just  set  me  afloat  on  that  bit  of  a  tomb- 
si  one,  and  cast  off  the  standing  part  of  what  fastened  me  to 
anything  human.  There  they  left  me,  to  generalize  on  the 
'arth  and  its  ways,  to  my  heart's  content." 

"  And  you  were  found  next  morning,  by  the  stone-cutter, 
when  he  came,  again,  to  use  his  chisel." 

"  Prophecy  couldn't  have  better  foretold  what  happened. 

There  I  was  found,  sure  enough ;  and  there  I  made  my 

first  escape  from  destruction.     Seeing  the  basket,  which  it 

seems  was  one  in  which  he  had  brought  his  own  dinner,  tho 

25 


290  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

day  before,  and  forgotten  to  carry  away  with  him,  he  gave 
it  a  jerk  to  cast  away  the  leavings,  before  he  handed  it  to 
the  child  who  had  come  to  take  it  home,  in  order  that  it 
might  be  filled  again,  when  out  I  rolled  on  the  cold  stone. 
There  I  lay,  as  near  the  grave  as  a  tomb-stone,  when  I  was 
just  a  week  old." 

"  Poor  fellow — you  could  only  know  this  by  report,  how 
ever.  And  what  was  done  with  you  ?" 

"  I  suppose,  if  the  truth  were  known,  my  father  was 
somewhere  about  that  yard  ;  and  little  do  I  envy  the  old 
gentleman  his  feelings,  if  he  reflected  much,  over  matters 
and  things.  I  was  sent  to  the  Aims-House,  however ;  stone 
cutters  being  nat'rally  hard-hearted,  I  suppose.  The  fact 
that  I  was  left  among  such  people,  makes  me  think  so  much 
the  more,  that  my  own  father  must  have  been  one  of  them, 
or  it  never  could  have  happened.  At  all  events,  I  was  soon 
rated  on  the  Aims-House  books ;  and  the  first  thing  they 
did  was  to  give  me  some  name.  I  was  No.  19,  for  about  r 
week  ;  at  the  age  of  fourteen  days,  I  became  Moses  Marble.' 

"  It  was  an  odd  selection,  that  your  '  sponsors  in  bap 
tism'  made !" 

"  Somewhat  —  Moses  came  from  the  scripfcur's,  they  tell 
me ;  there  being  a  person  of  that  name,  as  I  understand, 
who  was  turned  adrift  pretty  much  as  I  was,  myself." 

'*  Why,  yes — so  far  as  the  basket  and  the  abandonment 
were  concerned ;  but  he  was  put  afloat  fairly,  and  not 
clapped  on  a  tomb-stone,  as  if  to  threaten  him  with  the 
grave  at  the  very  outset." 

"  Well,  Tombstone  came  very  near  being  my  name.  At 
first,  they  thought  of  giving  me  the  name  of  the  man  for 
whom  the  stone  was  intended;  but,  that  being  Zollickoffer, 
they  thought  I  never  should  be  able  to  spell  it.  Then  came 
Tombstone,  which  they  thought  melancholy,  and  so  they 
called  me  Marble ;  consaiting,  I  suppose,  it  would  make  me 
tough" 

"  How  long  did  you  remain  in  the  Aims-House,  and  at 
what  age  did  you  first  go  to  sea  ?" 

"  I  staid  among  them  the  public  feeds,  until  I  was  eight 
years  old,  and  then  I  took  a  hazy  day  to  cut  adrift  from 
rharity.  At  that  time,  Miles,  our  country  belonged  to  the 
British — 01  they  treated  it  as  if  it  did,  though  I've  heard 


AFL-OAT     AND     ASHORE.  291 

wiser  men  than  myself  say,  it  was  always  our  own,  Iho 
king  of  England  only  happening  to  be  our  king — but  I  was 
born  a  British  subject,  and  being  now  just  forty,  you  can 
understand  I  went  to  sea  several  years  before  the  revo 
lution." 

*'  True — you  must  have  seen  service  in  that  war,  on  one 
side,  or  the  other  ?" 

"  If  you  say  both  sides,  you  '11  not  be  out  of  the  way.  In 
1775,  I  was  a  foretop-man  in  the  Romeny  50,  where  I 
remained  until  I  was  transferred  to  the  Connecticut  74 — " 

"  The  what  ?"  said  1,  in  surprise.  "  Had  the  English  a 
line-of-battle  ship  called  the  Connecticut  ?" 

"  As  near  as  I  could  make  it  out :  I  always  thought  it  a 
big  compliment  for  John  Bull  to  pay  the  Yankees." 

"  Perhaps  the  name  of  your  ship  was  the  Carnatic  ?  The 
sounds  are  not  unlike." 

"  Blast  me,  if  I  don't  think  you  've  hit  it,  Miles.  Well, 
I  'm  glad  of  it,  for  I  run  from  the  ship,  and  I  shouldn't  half 
like  the  thought  of  serving  a  countryman  such  a  trick.  Yes, 
I  then  got  on  board  of  one  of  our  sloops,  and  tried  my  hand 
at  settling  the  account  with  my  old  masters.  I  was  taken 
prisoner  for  my  pains,  but  worried  through  the  war  without 
getting  my  neck  stretched.  They  wanted  to  make  it  out, 
on  board  the  old  Jarsey,  that  I  was  an  Englishman,  but  1 
told  'em  just  to  prove  it.  Let  'em  only  prove  where  I  was 
born,  I  said,  and  I  would  give  it  up.  I  was  ready  to  be 
hanged,  if  they  could  only  prove  where  I  was  born.  D  c, 
but  I  sometimes  thought  I  never  was  born,  at  all." 

"  You  are  surely  an  American,  Marble  1  A  Manhattanese, 
born  and  educated '.'" 

"  Why,  as  it  is  not  likely  any  person  would  import  a 
child  a  week  old,  to  plant  it  on  a  tombstone,  I  conclude  I 
am.  Yes,  I  must  be  that ;  and  I  have  sometimes  thought 
of  laying  claim  to  the  property  of  Trinity  Church,  on  the 
strength  of  my  birth-right.  Well,  as  soon  as  the  war  was 
over,  and  I  got  out  of  prison,  and  that  was  shortly  after  you 
were  born,  Captain  Wallingford,  I  went  to  work  regularly, 
ind  have  been  ever  since  sarving  as  dickey,  or  chief-mate, 
on  board  of  some  craft  or  other.  If  I  had  no  family  bosom 
to  go  into,  as  a  resting-place,  I  had  my  bosom  to  fill  with 
solid  beef  and  pork,  and  that  is  not  to  be  done  by  idleness." 


292  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  And,  all  this  time,  my  good  friend,  you  have  been  liv 
ing,  as  it  might  be,  alone  in  the  world,  without  a  relative  of 
any  sort?" 

"As  sure  as  you  are  there.  Often  and  often,  have  1 
walked  through  the  streets  of  New  York,  and  said  to  my- 
self,  Among  all  these  people,  there  is  not  one  that  I  can  call 
a  relation.  My  blood  is  in  no  man's  veins,  but  my  own." 

This  was  said  with  a  bitter  sadness,  that  surprised  me. 
Obdurate,  and  insensible  to  suffering  as  Marble  had  ever 
appeared  to  me,  I  was  not  prepared  to  find  him  giving  such 
evidence  of  feeling.  I  was  then  young,  but  now  am  old  ; 
and  one  of  the  lessons  learned  in  the  years  that  have  inter 
vened,  is  not  to  judge  of  men  by  appearances.  So  much 
sensibility  is  hidden  beneath  assumed  indifference,  so  much 
suffering  really  exists  behind  smiling  countenances,  and  so 
little  does  the  exterior  tell  the  true  story  of  all  that  is  to  be 
found  within,  that  I  am  now  slow  to  yield  credence  to  the 
lying  surfaces  of  things.  Most  of  all  had  I  learned  to  con 
demn  that -heartless  injustice  of  the  world,  that  renders  it  so 
prompt  to  decide,  on  rumour  and  conjectures,  constituting 
itself  a  judge  from  which  there  shall  be  no  appeal,  in  cases 
in  which  it  has  not  taken  the  trouble  to  examine,  and  which 
it  had  not  even  the  power  to  examine  evidence. 

"  We  are  all  of  the  same  family,  my  friend,"  I  answered, 
with  a  good  design  at  least,  "  though  a  little  separated  by 
time  and  accidents." 

"Family! — Yes,  I  belong  to  my  own  family.  I  'm  a 
more  important  man  in  my  family,  than  Bonaparte  is  in 
his ;  for  I  am  all  in  all ;  ancestors,  present  time  and  pos 
terity  !" 

"  It  is,  at  least,  your  own  fault  you  are  the  last ;  why  not 
marry  and  have  children  ?" 

"  Because  my  parents  did  not  set  me  the  example,"  an 
swered  Marble,  almost  fiercely.  Then  clapping  his  hand 
on  my  shoulder,  in  a  friendly  way,  as  if  to  soothe  mo  aftei 
so  sharp  a  rejoinder,  he  added  in  a  gentler  tone — "  Come, 
Miles,  the  Major  and  his  daughter  will  want  their  break 
fasts,  and  we  had  better  join  them.  Talking  of  matrimony, 
there's  the  girl  for  you,  my  boy,  thrown  into  your  arms 
almost  nat'rally,  as  one  might  say." 

"  I  am  far  from   being  so  sure  of  that.  Marble."  T  an 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  293 

swered,  as  both  began  to  walk  slowly  towards  the  ten* 
"  Major  Merton  might  not  think  it  an  honour,  in  the  firsl 
place,  to  let  his  daughter  marry  a  Yankee  sailor." 

"  Not  such  a  one  as  myself,  perhaps ;  but  why  not  one 
like  you  1  How  many  generations  have  there  been  of  you, 
now,  at  the  place  you  call  Clawbonny  ?" 

"  Four,  from  father  to  son,  and  all  of  us  Miles  Walling- 
fords." 

"  Well,  the  old  Spanish  proverb  says  '  it  takes  three 
generations  to  make  a  gentleman ;'  and  here  you  have  four 
to  start  upon.  In  my  family,  all  the  generations  have  been 
on  the  same  level,  and  I  count  myself  old  in  my  sphere." 

"  It  is  odd  that  a  man  like  you  should  know  anything  of 
old  Spanish  proverbs !" 

««  What  7  Of  such  a  proverb,  think  you,  Miles  ?  A  man 
without  even  a  father  or  mother — who  never  had  either,  as 
one  may  say — and  he  not  remember  such  a  proverb !  Boy, 
boy,  I  never  forget  anything  that  so  plainly  recalls  the 
tomb-stone,  and  the  basket,  and  the  Aims-House,  and  Moses, 
and  the  names !" 

"  But  Miss  Merton  might  object  to  the  present  genera 
tion,"  I  resumed,  willing  to  draw  my  companion  from  his 
bitter  thoughts,  "  however  favourably  disposed  her  father 
might  prove  to  the  last." 

"That  will  be  your  own  fault,  then.  Here  you  have 
her,  out  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  all  to  yourself;  and  if  you 
cannot  tell  your  own  story,  and  that  in  a  way  to  make  her 
believe  it,  you  are  not  the  lad  I  take  you  for." 

I  made  an  evasive  and  laughing  answer ;  but,  being  quite 
near  the  tent  by  this  time,  it  was  necessary  to  change  the 
discourse.  The  reader  may  think  it  odd,  but  that  was  the 
very  first  time  the  possibility  of  my  marrying  Emily  Merton 
ever  crossed  my  mind.  In  London,  I  had  regarded  her  as 
an  agreeable  acquaintance,  with  just  as  much  of  the  colour- 
ingot' romance  and  of  the  sentimental  about  our  intercourse, 
as  is  common  with  youths  of  nineteen  and  girls  a  little 
younger;  but  as  nothing  more.  When  we  met  on  the 
island,  Emily  appeared  to  me  like  a  friend — a  female  friend 
— and,  of  course,  one  to  be  viewed  with  peculiarly  softened 
feelings  ;  s'.ill,  as  only  a  friend.  During  the  month  we  had 
just  passed  in  the  same  ship,  this  tie  had  gradually  strength- 
25* 


294  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORK. 

ened ;  and  I  confess  to  a  perfect  consciousness  of  there 
being  on  board  a  pretty  girl  in  her  nineteenth  year,  of  agree 
able  manners,  delicate  sentiments,  and  one  whose  presence 
gave  the  Crisis  a  charm  she  certainly  never  enjoyed  during 
poor  Captain  Williams's  time.  Notwithstanding  all  this, 
there  was  something — though  what  that  something  was,  I 
did  not  then  know  myself — which  prevented  me  from  abso 
lutely  falling  in  love  with  my  fair  guest.  Nevertheless, 
Marble's  suggestion  was  not  unpleasant  to  me ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  rather  conduced  to  the  satisfaction  of  my  pre 
sent  visit. 

We  were  kindly  received  by  our  hosts,  who  always  seemed 
to  remember  the  commencement  of  our  acquaintance,  when 
Marble  and  myself  visited  them  together.  The  breakfast 
had  a  little  of  the  land  about  it ;  for  Mons.  Le  Compte's 
garden  still  produced  a  few  vegetables,  such  as  lettuce, 
pepper-grass,  radishes,  &c. ;  most  of  which,  however,  had 
sown  themselves.  Three  or  four  fowls,  too,  that  he  had  left 
on  the  island  in  the  hurry  of  his  departure,  had  begun  to 
lay ;  and  Neb  having  found  a  nest,  we  had  the  very  unusual 
treat  of  fresh  eggs.  I  presume  no  one  will  deny  that  they 
were  sufficiently  "  country-laid." 

"  Emily  and  myself  consider  ourselves  as  old  residents 
here,"  the  Major  observed,  as  he  gazed  around  him,  the  table 
being  set  in  the  open  air,  under  some  trees ;  "  and  I  could 
almost  find  it  in  my  heart  to  remain  on  this  beautiful  island 
for  the  remainder  of  my  days — quite,  I  think,  were  it  not  for 
my  poor  girl,  who  might  find  the  society  of  her  old  father 
rather  dull  work,  at  her  time  of  life." 

"  Well,  Major,"  said  Marble,  "  you  have  only  to  let  your 
taste  be  known,  to  have  the  ch'ice  among  all  our  youngsters 
to  be  her  companion.  There  is  Mr.  Talcott,  a  well-edicated 
and  mannerly  lad  enough,  and  of  good  connexions,  they 
tell  me ;  and  as  for  Captain  Wallingford  here,  I  will  answer 
for  him.  My  life  on  it,  he  would  give  up  Clawbonny,  and 
the  property  on  which  he  is  the  fourth  of  hie  name,  to  be 
king,  or  Prince  of  Wales  of  this  island,  with  such  com 
pany !" 

Now,  it  was  Marble,  and  not  I,  who  made  this  speech ; 
and  yet  I  heartily  wished  it  unsaid.  It  made  me  feel  foolish, 
and  I  dare  say  it  made  me  look  foolish ;  and  I  know  it 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  294 

caused  Emily  to  blush.  Poor  girl !  she,  who  blushed  so 
easily,  and  was  so  sensitive,  and  so  delicately  situated — she 
was  entitled  to  have  more  respect  paid  to  her  feelings.  The 
Major  and  Marble,  however,  took  it  all  very  coolly,  continu 
ing  the  discourse  as  if  nothing  out  of  the  way  had  been 
said. 

"  No  doubt — no  doubt,"  answered  the  first ;  "  romance 
always  finds  votaries  among  young  people,  and  this  place 
may  well  excite  romantic  feelings  in  those  who  are  older 
than  these  young  men.  Do  you  know,  gentlemen,  that  ever 
since  I  have  known  this  island,  I  have  had  a  strong  desire 
to  pass  the  remainder  of  my  days  on  it  ?  The  idea  I  have 
just  mentioned  to  you,  therefore,  is  by  no  means  one  of  a 
moment's  existence." 

"  I  am  glad,  at  least,  dear  sir,"  observed  Emily,  laughing, 
"  that  the  desire  has  not  been  so  strong  as  to  induce  you  to 
make  formal  proposals  on  the  subject." 

"  You,  indeed,  are  the  great  obstacle ;  for  what  could  I 
do  with  a  discontented  girl,  whose  mind  would  be  running 
on  balls,  theatres,  and  other  amusements'?  We  should  not 
have  even  a  church." 

"  And,  Major  Merton,"  I  put  in,  "  what  could  you,  or  any 
other  man,  do  with  himself,  in  a  place  like  this,  without 
companions,  books,  or  occupation  ?" 

"If  a  conscientious  man,  Miles,  he  might  think  over  the  past; 
if  a  wise  one,  he  would  certainly  reflect  on  the  future.  I  should 
have  books,  since  Emily  and  I  could  muster  several  hundred 
volumes  between  us ;  and,  with  books,  I  should  have  com 
panions.  What  could  I  do  ?  I  should  have  everything  to 
create,  as  it  might  be,  and  the  pleasure  of  seeing  everything 
rising  up  under  my  own  hand.  There  would  be  a  house  to 
construct — the  materials  of  that  wreck  to  collect — ropes, 
canvass,  timber,  tar,  sugar,  and  divers  other  valuables  that 
are  still  out  on  the  reef,  or  which  lie  scattered  about  on 
the  beach,  to  gather  together,  and  save  against  a  rainy  day. 
Then  I  would  have  a  thought  for  my  poultry;  and  possibly 
you  might  be  persuaded  to  leave  me  one  or  two  of  these 
pigs,  of  which  I  see  the  French  forgot  half  a  dozen,  in  their 
haste  to  cheat  the  Spaniards.  Oh !  I  should  live  like  a 
prince  and  be  a  prince  regnant  in  the  bargain." 

*  Yes,  sir,  you  would  be  captain  and  all  hands,  if  that 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

would  be  any  gratification;  but  I  think  you  would  soon 
weary  of  your  government,  and  be  ready  to  abdicate." 

"  Perhaps  so,  Miles ;  yet  the  thought  is  pleasant  to  me : 
but  for  this  dear  girl,  it  would  be  particularly  so.  I  have 
very  few  relatives ;  the  nearest  I  have  being,  oddly  enough, 
your  own  country-people,  gentlemen.  My  mother  was  a 
native  of  Boston,  where  my  father,  a  merchant,  married  her ; 
and  I  came  very  near  being  a  Yankee  myself,  having  beer? 
born  but  a  week  after  my  parents  landed  in  England.  On 
my  father's  side,  I  have  not  five  recognised  relatives,  and 
they  are  rather  distant ;  while  those  on  my  mother's  are 
virtually  all  strangers.  Then  I  never  owned  a  foot  of  this 
earth  on  which  we  live,  in  my  life " 

"  Nor  I,"  interrupted  Marble,  with  emphasis. 

"  My  father  was  a  younger  son ;  and  younger  sons  in 
England  are  generally  lack-lands.  My  life  has  been  such, 
and,  I  may  add,  my  means  such,  that  I  have  never  been  in 
the  way  of  purchasing  even  enough  earth  to  bury  me  in ; 
and  here,  you  see,  is  an  estate  that  can  be  had  for  asking. 
How  much  land  do  you  fancy  there  is  in  this  island,  gentle 
men  1  I  mean,  apart  from  the  beach,  the  sands  and  rocks ; 
but  such  as  has  grass,  and  bears  trees — ground  that  might 
be  tilled,  and  rendered  productive,  without  much  labour  ?" 

"  A  hundred  thousand  acres,"  exclaimed  Marble,  whose 
calculation  was  received  with  a  general  laugh. 

'*  It  seems  rather  larger  to  me,  sir,"  I  answered,  "  than 
the  farm  at  Clawbonny.  Perhaps  there  may  be  six  or  eight 
hundred  acres  of  the  sort  of  land  you  mention ;  though  the 
whole  island  must  contain  several  thousands— possibly  four, 
or  five." 

"  Well,  four  or  five  thousand  acres  of  land  make  a  good 
estate — but,  as  I  see  Emily  is  getting  frightened,  and  is  ner 
vous  under  the  apprehension  of  falling  heir  to  such  extensive 
possessions,  I  will  say  no  more  about  them." 

No  more  was  said,  and  we  finished  our  breakfasts,  con 
versing  of  the  past,  rather  than  of  the  future.  The  Major 
and  Marble  went  to  stroll  along  the  groves,  in  the  direction 
of  the  wreck ;  while  I  persuaded  Emily  to  put  on  her  hat 
and  stroll — the  other  way. 

"  This  is  a  singular  notion  of  my  father's,"  my  fair  com 
panion  remarked,  after  a  moment  of  musing ;  "  nor  is  it  the 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  297 

first  time,  I  do  assure  you,  on  which  he  has  mentioned  it. 
While  we  were  here  before,  he  spoke  of  it  daily." 

"  The  scheme  might  do  well  enough  for  two  ardent 
lovers,"  said  I,  laughing ;  "  but  would  scarcely  be  wise  for 
un  elderly  gentleman  and  his  daughter.  I  can  imagine  that 
two  young  people,  warmly  attached  to  each  other,  might  get 
along  in  such  a  place  for  a  year  or  two,  without  hanging 
themselves ;  but  I  fancy  even  love  would  tire  out,  after  a 
while,  and  they  would  set  about  building  a  boat,  in  which  to 
be  off." 

"  You  are  not  very  romantic,  I  perceive,  Mr.  Walling- 
ford,"  Emily  answered,  and  I  thought  a  little  reproachfully. 
««  Now,  I  own  that  to  my  taste,  I  could  be  happy  anywhere — 
here,  as  well  as  in  London,  surrounded  by  my  nearest  and 
dearest  friends." 

"  Surrounded  !  Ay,  that  would  be  a  very  different  matter. 
Let  me  have  your  father,  yourself,  honest  Marble,  good  Mr. 
Hardinge,  Rupert,  dear,  dear  Grace,  and  Lucy,  with  Neb, 
and  some  others  of  my  own  blacks,  and  I  should  ask  no  better 
home.  The  island  is  only  in  twenty,  has  plenty  of  shade, 
some  delicious  fruits,  and  would  be  easily  tilled — one  might 
do  here,  I  acknowledge,  and  it  would  be  pleasant  to  found  a 
colony." 

"  And  who  are  all  these  people  you  love  so  well,  Mr. 
Wallingford,  that  their  presence  would  make  a  desert  island 
pleasant  ?" 

"  In  the  first  place,  Major  Merton  is  a  half-pay  officer  in 
the  British  service,  who  has  been  appointed  to  some  civil 
station  in  India" — I  answered,  gallantly.  "  He  is  a  respect 
able,  agreeable,  well-informed  gentleman,  a  little  turned  of 
fifty,  who  might  act  as  Judge  and  Chancellor.  Then  he  has 
a  daughter  —  " 

"  I  know  more  of  her  and  her  bad  qualities  than  you  do 
yourself,  Sire — but  who  are  Rupert,  and  Grace,  and  Lucy — 
dear,  dear  Grace,  especially?" 

"  Dear,  dearest  Grace,  Madam,  is  my  sister  —  my  only 
sister  —  all  the  sister  I  ever  can  have,  either  by  marriage, 
or  any  other  means,  and  sisters  are  usually  dear  to  young 
men,  I  believe." 

"  Well  —  I  knew  you  had  a  sister,  and  a  dear  sister,  but 
I  also  knew  you  had  but  one.  Now  as  to  Rupert — " 


298  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

"  He  is  not  another  sister,  you  may  be  well  assured.  1 
have  mentioned  to  you  a  friend  from  childhood,  who  went  to 
sea  with  me,  at  first,  but,  disliking  the  business,  has  since 
commenced  the  study  of  the  law." 

"  That,  then,  is  Rupert.  I  remember  some  such  touches 
of  his  character,  but  did  not  know  the  name.  Now,  proceed 
on  to  the  next — " 

"  What,  Neb  !  —  You  know  him  almost  as  well  as  I  do 
myself.  He  is  yonder  feeding  the  chickens,  and  will  save 
his  passage  money." 

"  But  you  spoke  of  another  —  that  is  —  was  there  not  a 
Mr.  — ,  Hardinge  was  the  name,  I  think  7" 

"  Oh !  true  —  I  forgot  Mr.  Hardinge  and  Lucy,  though 
they  would  be  two  of  the  most  important  of  the  colonists 
Mr.  Hardinge  is  my  guardian,  and  will  continue  to  be  so  a 
few  months  longer,  and  Lucy  is  his  daughter  —  Rupert's 
sister  —  the  old  gentleman  is  a  clergyman,  and  would  help 
us  to  keep  Sundays  as  one  should,  and  might  perform  the 
marriage  ceremony,  should  it  ever  be  required." 

"  Not  much  danger  of  that,  I  fancy,  on  your  desert 
island  —  your  Barrataria" — observed  Miss  Merton,  quickly. 

I  cannot  explain  the  sensitiveness  of  certain  young  ladies 
on  such  points,  unless  it  be  through  their  consciousness. 
Now,  had  I  been  holding  this  idle  talk  with  Lucy,  the  dear, 
honest  creature  would  have  laughed,  blushed  ever  so  little, 
possibly,  and  nodded  her  head  in  frank  assent ;  or,  perhaps, 
she  would  have  said  "  oh  !  certainly,"  in  a  way  to  show  that 
she  had  no  desire  to  affect  so  silly  a  thing  as  to  wish  one  to 
suppose  she  thought  young  people  would  not  get  married  at 
Marble  Land,  as  well  as  Clawbonny,  or  New  York.  Miss 
Merton,  however,  saw  fit  to  change  the  discourse,  which 
soon  turned  on  her  father's  health.  On  this  subject  she  was 
natural  and  full  of  strong  affection.  She  was  anxious  to  get 
the  Major  out  of  the  warm  latitudes.  His  liver  had  been 
touched  in  the  West  Indies,  but  he  had  hoped  that  he  was 
cured,  or  he  never  would  have  accepted  the  Bombay  appoint 
ment.  Experience,  however,  was  giving  reason  to  suspect 
the  contrary,  and  Emily  wished  him  in  a  cold  climate  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  that  with  an  earnestness  that  showed 
she  regarded  all  that  had  been  said  about  the  island  as  sheer 
pleasantry.  We  continued  the  conversation  for  an  hour, 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  299 

when,  returning  to  the  tent,  I  left  my  fair  companion  with  a 
promise  to  be  as  active  as  possible,  in  order  to  carry  the  ship 
into  a  higher  latitude.  Still  I  did  not  deem  the  island  a  par 
ticularly  dangerous  place,  notwithstanding  its  position  ;  the 
trades  and  sea  breezes,  with  its  ample  shades,  rendering  the 
spot  one  of  the  most  delightful  tropical  abodes  I  had  ever 
been  in. 

After  quitting  Emily,  I  went  to  join  Marble,  who  was 
alone,  pacing  a  spot  beneath  the  trees,  that  poor  Le  Compte 
had  worn  into  a  path,  and  which  he  had  himself  called  his 
"  quarter-deck." 

"  This  Major  Merton  is  a  sensible  man,  Miles,"  the  ex- 
mate  began,  as  soon  as  I  dropped  in  alongside  of  him,  and 
joined  in  his  semi-trot ;  "  a  downright,  sensible  sort  of  a 
philosopher-like  man,  accordin'  to  my  notion." 

"  What  has  he  been  telling  you,  now,  that  has  seized  your 
fancy  so  much  stronger  than  common  ?" 

"  Why,  I  was  thinking  of  this  idee  of  his,  to  remain  on 
the  island,  and  pass  the  remainder  of  the  v'y'ge  here,  with 
out  slaving  day  and  night  to  get  up  two  or  three  rounds  of 
the  ladder  of  promotion,  only  to  fall  down  again." 

"  And  did  the  Major  speak  of  such  things  7  I  know  of  no 
disappointments  of  his,  to  sour  him  with  the  world." 

"  I  was  not  speaking  for  Major  Merton,  but  for  myself, 
Miles.  To  tell  you  the  truth,  boy,  this  idee  seems  just  suited 
to  me,  and  I  have  almost  made  up  my  mind  to  remain  be 
hind,  here,  when  you  sail." 

I  looked  at  Marble  with  astonishment;  the  subject  OR 
which  the  Major  had  spoken  in  pleasantry,  rather  than  with 
any  real  design  of  carrying  his  project  into  execution,  was 
one  that  my  old  messmate  regarded  seriously !  I  had  noted 
the  attention  with  which  he  listened  to  our  discourse,  during 
breakfast,  and  the  strong  feeling  with  which  he  spoke 
at  the  time,  but  had  no  notion  of  the  cause  of  either.  I 
knew  the  man  too  well,  not  to  understand,  at  once,  that  he 
was  in  sober  earnest,  and  had  too  much  experience  of  his 
nature,  not  to  foresee  the  greatest  difficulty  in  turning  him 
from  his  purpose.  I  understood  the  true  motive  to  be  pro 
fessional  mortification  at  all  that  occurred  since  he  had 
Buccijeded  Captain  Williams  in  command ;  for  Marble  Mas 


300  AFLOAT     AND     ABHOR*. 

much  too  honest  and  too  manly,  to  think  for  a  moment  of 
concealing  his  own  misfortunes  behind  the  mantle  offered  by 
my  success. 

"  You  have  not  thought  of  this  matter  sufficiently,  my 
friend,  *  I  answered,  evasively,  knowing  the  folly  of  attempt- 
ing  to  laugh  the  matter  off —  "  when  you  have  slept  on  it  a 
night,  you  will  see  things  differently." 

"  I  fancy  not,  Miles.  Here  is  all  I  want,  and  just  what  I 
want.  After  you  have  taken  away  everything  that  can  be 
required  for  the  vessels,  or  desirable  to  the  owners,  there 
will  be  enough  left  to  keep  me  a  dozen  lives." 

"  It  is  not  on  account  of  food,  that  I  speak  —  the  island 
alone,  in  its  fruits,  fish  and  birds,  to  say  nothing  as  to  the 
seeds,  and  fowls,  and  pigs,  we  could  leave  you,  would  be 
sufficient  to  keep  fifty  men ;  but,  think  of  the  solitude,  the 
living  without  object,  the  chances  of  sickness  —  the  horrible 
death  that  would  follow  to  one  unable  to  rise  and  assist  him 
self,  and  all  the  other  miseries  of  being  alone.  Depend  on 
it,  man  was  not  created  to  live  alone.  Society  is  indispensa 
ble  to  him,  and  —  " 

"  I  have  thought  of  it  all,  and  find  it  entirely  to  my  taste. 
I  tell  you,  Miles,  I  should  be  exactly  in  my  sphere,  in  this 
island,  and  that  as  a  hermit.  I  do  not  say  I  should  not  like 
some  company,  if  it  could  be  yourself,  or  Talcott,  or  the 
Major,  or  even  Neb ;  but  no  company  is  better  than  bad  ; 
and  as  for  asking,  or  allowing  any  one  to  stay  with  me,  it 
is  out  of  the  question.  I  did,  at  first,  think  of  keeping  the 
Sandwich  Islanders;  but  it  would  be  bad  faith,  and  they 
would  not  be  likely  to  remain  quiet,  after  the  ship  had  sailed. 
No,  I  will  remain  alone.  You  will  probably  report  the  island 
when  you  get  home,  and  that  will  induce  some  vessel,  which 
may  be  passing  near,  to  look  for  me,  so  I  shall  hear  of  you 
all,  every  four  or  five  years." 

"  Gracious  heaven  !  Marble,  you  cannot  be  serious  in  so 
mad  a  design  ?" 

"  Just  look  at  my  situation,  Miles,  and  decide  for  your 
self.  I  am  without  a  friend  on  earth — I  mean  nat'ral  friend — 
I  know  what  sort  of  friend  you  are,  and  parting  with  you 
will  be  the  toughest  of  all  - —  but  I  have  not  a  relation  on  the 
wide  earth  —  no  property,  no  b«me-  no  one  to  wish  to  see 


AFLOAT     AND     ASH  ORB.  301 

me  return,  not  even  a  cellai  to  lay  my  head  in.  To  me  all 
places  are  alike,  with  the  exception  of  this,  which,  having 
discovered,  I  look  upon  as  my  own." 

"  You  have  a  country.  Marble ;  and  that  is  the  next  thing 
to  family  and  home — overshadows  all." 

"  Ay,  and  I  '11  have  a  country  here.  This  will  be  Ame 
rica,  having  been  discovered  by  Americans,  and  in  their 
possession.  You  will  leave  me  the  buntin',  and  I  '11  show 
the  stars  and  stripes  of  a  4th  of  July,  just  as  you  will  show 
'em,  in  some  other  part  of  the  world.  I  was  born  Yankee, 
at  least,  and  I  '11  die  Yankee.  I  've  sailed  under  that  flag, 
boy,  ever  since  the  year  '77,  and  will  not  sail  under  another, 
you  may  depend  on  it." 

"  I  never  could  justify  myself  to  the  laws  for  leaving  a 
man  behind  me  in  such  a  place." 

"  Then  I  '11  run,  and  that  will  make  all  right.  But,  you 
Know  well  enough,  boy,  that  leaving  a  captain  is  one  thing, 
and  leaving  a  man  another." 

"  And  what  shall  I  tell  all  your  acquaintances,  those  who 
have  sailed  with  you  so  often  and  so  long,  has  become  of 
their  old  ship-mate  T' 

"  Tell  'em  that  the  man  who  was  once  found,  is  now  Zostf," 
answered  Marble,  bitterly.  "  But  I  am  not  such  a  fool  as 
to  think  myself  of  so  much  importance  as  you  seem  to 
imagine.  The  only  persons  who  will  consider  the  transac 
tion  of  any  interest  will  be  the  newspaper  gentry,  and  they 
will  receive  it  only  as  news,  and  thank  you  about  half  as 
much  as  they  would  for  a  murder,  or  a  robbery,  or  the  poi 
soning  of  a  mother  and  six  little  children." 

"  I  think,  after  all,  you  would  scarcely  find  the  means  of 
supporting  yourself,"  I  added,  looking  round  in  affected 
doubt ;  for  I  felt,  at  each  instant,  how  likely  my  companion 
was  to  adhere  to  his  notion,  and  this  from  knowing  him  so 
well.  "  I  doubt  if  the  cocoa  is  healthy,  all  the  year  round, 
and  there  must  be  seasons  when  the  trees  do  not  bear." 

"  Have  no  fear  of  that  sort.  I  have  my  own  fowling- 
piece,  and  you  will  leave  me  a  musket,  or  two,  with  some 
ammunition.  Transient  vessels,  now  the  island  is  known, 
will  keep  up  the  supply.  There  are  two  hens  setting,  at  this 
moment,  and  a  third  has  actually  hatched.  Then  one  of 
the  men  tells  me  there  is  a  litter  of  pigs,  near  the  mouth  of 
26 


302  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

the  bay.  As  for  the  hogs  and  the  poultry,  the  shell -fish 
and  berries  will  keep  them ;  but  there  are  fifteen  hogsheads 
of  sugar  on  the  beach,  besides  thirty  or  forty  more  in  the 
wreck,  and  all  above  water.  There  are  casks  of  beans  and 
peas,  the  sea-stores  of  the  French,  besides  lots  of  other 
things.  I  can  plant,  and  fish,  and  shoot,  and  make  a  fence 
from  the  ropes  of  the  wreck,  and  have  a  large  garden,  and 
all  that  a  man  can  want.  Our  own  poultry,  you  know,  has 
long  been  out ;  but  there  is  still  a  bushel  of  Indian-corn  left, 
that  was  intended  for  their  feed.  One  quart  of  that,  will 
make  me  a  rich  man,  in  such  a  climate  as  this,  and  with 
soil  like  that  on  the  flat  between  the  two  groves.  I  own  a 
chest  of  tools,  and  am,  ship-fashion,  both  a  tolerable  carpen 
ter  and  blacksmith ;  and  I  do  not  see  that  I  shall  want  for 
anything.  You  must  leave  half  the  things  that  are  scattered 
about,  and  so  far  from  being  a  man  to  be  pitied,  I  shall  be 
a  man  to  be  envied.  Thousands  of  wretches  in  the  greatest 
thoroughfares  of  London,  would  gladly  exchange  their 
crowded  streets  and  poverty,  for  my  solitude  and  abund 
ance." 

I  began  to  think  Marble  was  not  in  a  state  of  mind  to 
reason  with,  and  changed  the  subject.  The  day  passed  in 
recreation,  as  had  been  intended  ;  and  next  morning  we  set 
about  filling  up  the  schooner.  We  struck  in  all  the  copper, 
all  the  English  goods,  and  such  portions  of  the  Frenchman's 
cargo  as  would  be  most  valuable  in  America.  Marble, 
however,  had  announced  to  others  his  determination  to 
remain  behind,  to  abandon  the  seas,  and  to  turn  hermit. 
As  his  first  step,  he  gave  up  the  command  ot  the  Pretty 
Poll,  and  I  was  obliged  to  restore  her,  again,  to  our  old 
third- mate,  who  was  every  way  competent  to  take  care  of 
her.  At  the  end  of  the  week,  the  schooner  was  ready,  and 
despairing  of  getting  Marble  off  in  Aer,  I  ordered  her  to  sail 
for  home,  via  Cape  Horn ;  giving  especial  instructions  not 
to  attempt  Magellan.  I  wrote  to  the  owners,  furnishing  an 
outline  of  all  that  had  occurred,  and  of  my  future  plans, 
simply  remarking  that  Mr.  Marble  had  declined  acting  out 
of  motives  of  delicacy,  since  the  re-capture  of  the  ship ;  and 
that,  in  future,  their  interests  must  remain  in  my  care. 
With  these  despatches  the  schooner  sailed.  Marble  and  I 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  303 

watched  her  until  her  sails  became  a  white  speck  on  the 
ocean,  after  which  she  suddenly  disappeared. 

As  for  the  ship,  she  was  all  ready ;  and  my  only  concern 
now  was  in  relation  to  Marble.  I  tried  the  influence  of 
Major  Merton ;  but,  unfortunately,  that  gentleman  had 
already  said  too  much  in  favour  of  our  friend's  scheme,  in 
ignorance  of  its  effect,  to  gain  much  credit  when  he  turned 
round,  and  espoused  the  other  side.  The  arguments  of 
Emily  failed,  also.  In  fact,  it  was  not  reason,  but  feeling 
that  governed  Marble ;  and,  in  a  bitter  hour,  he  had  deter 
mined  to  pass  the  remainder  of  his  days  where  he  was. 
Finding  all  persuasion  useless,  and  the  season  approaching 
when  the  winds  rendered  it  necessary  to  sail,  I  was  com 
pelled  to  yield,  or  resort  to  force.  The  last  I  was  reluctant 
to  think  of;  nor  was  I  certain  the  men  would  have  obeyed 
me  had  I  ordered  them  to  use  it.  Marble  had  been  their 
commander  so  long,  that  he  might,  at  any  moment,  have 
re-assumed  the  charge  of  the  ship ;  and  it  was  not  probable 
his  orders  would  have  been  braved  under  any  circumstances 
that  did  not  involve  illegality,  or  guilt.  After  a  consulta 
tion  with  the  Major,  I  found  it  necessary  to  yield  to  this 
whim,  though  I  did  so  with  greater  reluctance  than  I  ever 
experienced  on  any  other  occasion. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

'  Pass  on  relentless  world  !  I  grieve 

No  more  for  all  that  thou  hast  riven ! 
Pass  on,  in  God's  name — only  leave 

The  things  thou  never  yet  hast  given. — " 

LUNT. 

\FTER  every  means  had  been  uselessly  exhausted  to  per 
sumde  Marble  from  his  design,  it  only  remained  to  do  all  we 
could  to  make  him  comfortable  and  secure.  Of  enemies, 
there  was  no  danger,  and  care  was  not  necessary  for  de- 
rence.  We  got  together,  however,  some  of  the  timber, 
planks  and  other  materials,  that  were  remaining  at  the  ship. 


304  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

yard,  and  built  him  a  cabin,  that  offered  mucn  oetter  shelter 
against  the  tropical  storms  that  sometimes  prevailed,  than 
any  tent  could  yield.  We  made  this  cabin  as  wide  as  a 
plank  is  long,  or  twelve  feet,  and  some  five  or  six  feet  longer. 
It  was  well  sided  and  tightly  roofed,  having  three  windows 
and  a  door.  The  lights  of  the  wreck  supplied  the  first,  and 
her  cabin-door  the  last.  We  had  hinges,  and  everything 
that  was  necessary  to  keep  things  in  their  place.  There  was 
no  chimney  required,  fire  being  unnecessary  for  warmth  in 
that  climate ;  but  the  French  had  brought  their  carnboose 
from  the  wreck,  and  this  we  placed  under  a  proper  covering 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  hut,  the  strength  of  one  man 
being  insufficient  to  move  it.  We  also  enclosed,  by  means 
of  ropes,  and  posts  made  of  the  ribs  of  the  wreck,  a  plot  of 
ground  of  two  acres  in  extent,  where  the  land  was  the  richest 
and  unshaded,  so  as  to  prevent  the  pigs  from  injuring  the 
vegetables  ;  and,  poor  Marble  knowing  little  of  gardening,  I 
had  a  melancholy  pleasure  in  seeing  the  whole  piece  dug1, 
or  rather  hoed  up,  and  sown  and  planted  myself,  before  we 
sailed.  We  put  in  corn,  potatoes,  peas,  beans,  lettuce, 
radishes,  and  several  other  things,  of  which  we  found  the 
seeds  in  the  French  garden.  We  took  pains,  moreover,  to 
transport  from  the  wreck,  many  articles  that  it  was  thought 
might  prove  of  use,  though  they  were  too  heavy  for  Marble 
to  handle.  As  there  were  near  forty  of  us,  all  busy  in  this 
way  for  three  or  four  days,  we  effected  a  great  deal,  and  may 
be  said  to  have  got  the  island  in  order.  I  felt  the  same  in 
terest  in  the  duty,  that  I  should  in  bestowing  a  child  for  life. 

Marble,  himself,  was  not  much  among  us  all  this  time. 
He  rather  complained  that  I  should  leave  him  nothing  to 
do,  though  I  could  see  he  was  touched  by  the  interest  we 
manifested  in  his  welfare.  The  French  launch  had  been 
used  as  the  means  of  conveyance  between  the  wreck  and 
the  beach,  and  we  found  it  where  it  had  been  left  by  its 
original  owners,  anchored  to-leeward  of  the  island,  and 
abreast  of  the  ship.  It  was  the  last  thing  I  meddled  with 
and  it  was  my  care  to  put  it  in  such  a  state  that,  at  need,  it 
might  be  navigated  across  that  tranquil  sea,  to  some  other 
island,  should  Marble  feel  a  desire  to  abandon  his  solitude. 
The  disposition  I  made  of  the  boat  was  as  follows  : — 

The  launch  was  large  and  coppered,  and  it  carried  two 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  305 

lug-sails.  I  had  both  masts  stepped,  with  the  yards,  sails, 
sheets,  &c.  prepared,  and  put  in  their  places ;  a  stout  rope 
was  next  carried  round  the  entire  boat,  outside,  and  a  few 
inches  below  the  gunwale,  where  it  was  securely  nailed. 
From  this  rope,  led  a  number  of  lanyards,  with  eyes  turned 
into  their  ends.  Through  these  eyes  I  rove  a  sort  of  ridge- 
rope,  leading  it  also  through  the  eyes  of  several  stancheons 
that  were  firmly  stepped  on  the  thwarts.  The  effect,  when 
the  ridge-rope  was  set  up,  was  to  give  the  boat  the  protec 
tion  of  this  waist-cloth,  which  inclined  inboard,  however,  suf 
ficiently  to  leave  an  open  passage  between  the  two  sides,  of 
only  about  half  the  beam  of  the  boat.  To  the  ridge-rope 
and  lanyards,  1  had  tarpaulins  firmly  attached,  tacking  their 
lower  edges  strongly  to  the  outer  sides  of  the  boat.  By  this 
arrangement,  when  all  was  in  its  place,  and  properly  se 
cured,  a  sea  might  break,  or  a  wave  slap  against  the  boat, 
without  her  taking  in  much  water.  It  doubled  her  security 
in  this  particular,  more  than  answering  the  purposes  of  a 
half-deck  and  wash-board.  It  is  true,  a  very  heavy  wave 
might  carry  all  away;  but  very  heavy  waves  would  proba 
bly  fill  the  boat,  under  any  circumstances.  Such  a  craft 
could  only  find  safety  in  her  buoyancy ;  and  we  made  her 
as  safe  as  an  undecked  vessel  very  well  could  be. 

Marble  watched  me  while  I  was  superintending  these 
changes  in  the  boat,  with  a  good  deal  of  interest ;  and  one 
evening  —  I  had  announced  an  intention  to  sail  next  morn 
ing,  the  Major  and  Emily  having  actually  gone  on  board — 
that  evening,  he  got  my  arm,  and  led  me  away  from  the 
spot,  like  a  man  who  has  urgent  business.  I  could  see  that 
he  was  much  affected,  and  had  strong  hopes  he  intended  to 
announce  a  change  of  purpose.  His  hand  actually  trembled, 
the  whole  time  it  grasped  my  arm. 

"  God  bless  you  !  Miles— God  bless  you,  dear  boy  !"  he 
said,  speaking  with  difficulty,  as  soon  as  we  were  out  of  ear 
shot  from  the  others.  "  If  any  being  could  make  me  pine 
for  the  World,  it  would  be  such  a  friend  as  you.  I  could 
live  on  without  father  or  mother,  brother  or  sister,  ship  or 
confidence  of  my  owners,  good  name  even,  were  I  sure  of 
meeting  such  a  lad  as  yourself  in  only  every  thousandth 
man  I  fell  in  with.  But.  young  as  you  are,  you  know  how 
it  is  with  mankind ;  and  no  more  need  be  said  about  it.  Ail 
26* 


306  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

I  ask  now  is,  that  you  will  knock  off  with  this  c  making  him 
comfortable,'  as  you  call  it,  or  you  '11  leave  me  nothing  to 
do  for  myself.  I  can  fit  out  that  boat  as  well  as  e'er  a  man 
in  the  Crisis,  I  'd  have  you  to  know." 

"  I  am  well .  aware  of  that,  my  friend  ;  but  I  am  not  so 
certain  that  you  would.  In  that  boat,  I  am  in  hopes  you 
will  follow  us  out  to  sea,  and  come  on  board  again,  and  take 
your  old  place  as  master." 

Marble  shook  his  head,  and  I  believe  he  saw  by  my 
manner  that  I  had  no  serious  expectations  of  the  sort  I 
named.  We  walked  some  distance  farther,  in  silence,  be 
fore  he  again  spoke.  Then  he  said  suddenly,  and  in  a  way 
to  show  how  much  his  mind  was  troubled — 

"Miles,  my  dear  fellow,  you  must  let  me  hear  from 
you !" 

"  Hear  from  me !  By  what  means,  pray  ?  You  cannot 
expect  the  Postmaster-General  will  make  a  mail-route  be 
tween  New  York  and  this  island  ?" 

"  Poh  !  I  'm  getting  old,  and  losing  my  memory.  I  was 
generalizing  on  friendship,  and  the  like  of  that,  and  the  idee 
ran  away  with  me.  I  know,  of  course,  when  you  are  out 
of  sight,  that  I  shall  be  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  world — 
probably  shall  never  see  a  human  face  again.  But  what 
of  that  ?  My  time  cannot  be  long  now,  and  I  shall  have  the 
fish,  fowls  and  pigs  to  talk  to.  To  tell  you  the  truth,  Miles. 
Miss  Merton  gave  me  her  own  Bible  yesterday,  and,  at  my 
request,  she  pointed  out  that  part  which  gives  the  account 
about  Moses  in  the  bulrushes,  and  I've  just  been  looking  it 
over:  it  is  easy  enough,  now,  to  understand  why  I  was 
called  Moses." 

"  But  Moses  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  go  and  live  in 
a  desert,  or  on  an  uninhabited  island,  merely  because  he 
was  found  in  those  bulrushes." 

"  That  Moses  had  no  occasion  to  be  ashamed  of  his  pa 
rents.  It  was  fear,  not  shame,  that  sent  him  adrift.  Nor 
did  Moses  ever  let  a  set  of  lubberly  Frenchmen  seize  a  fine, 
stout  ship,  like  the  Crisis,  with  a  good,  able-bodied  crew  of 
forty  men  on  board  her." 

"  Come,  Marble,  you  have  too  much  sense  to  talk  in  this 
manner.  It  is,  fortunately,  not  too  late  to  change  your 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  3)7 

mind ;  ar.d  I  will  let  it  be  understood  that  you  did  so  at  my 
persuasion." 

This  was  the  commencement  of  a  final  effort  on  my  part 
to  induce  my  friend  to  abandon  his  mad  project.  We  con 
versed  quite  an  hour,  until  I  had  exhausted  my  breath,  as 
well  as  my  arguments,  indeed ;  and  all  without  the  least 
success.  I  pointed  out  to  him  the  miserable  plight  he  must 
be  in,  in  the  event  of  illness ;  but  it  was  an  argument  that 
had  no  effect  on  a  man  who  had  never  had  even  a  headach 
in  his  life.  As  for  society,  he  cared  not  a  straw  for  it  when 
ashore,  he  often  boasted ;  and  he  could  not  yet  appreciate 
the  effects  of  total  solitude.  Once  or  twice,  remarks  escaped 
him  as  if  he  thought  it  possible  I  might  one  day  return  ;  but 
they  were  ventured  in  pleasantry,  rather  than  with  any  ap 
pearance  of  seriousness.  I  could  see  that  the  self-devoted 
hermit  had  his  misgivings,  but  I  could  obtain  no  verbal 
concession  from  him  to  that  effect.  He  was  reminded  that 
the  ship  must  positively  sail  next  day,  since  it  would  not  do 
to  trifle  with  the  interests  of  the  owners  any  longer. 

"  I  know  it,  Miles,"  Marble  answered,  "  and  no  more  need 
be  said  on  the  subject.  Your  people  are  through  with  their 
work,  and  here  comes  Neb  to  report  the  boat  ready  to  go 
off.  I  shall  try  my  hand  ashore  to-night,  alone;  in  the 
morning,  I  suppose  you  would  like  to  take  an  old  shipmate 
by  the  hand  for  the  last  time,  and  you  will  nat'rally  look  for 
me  at  the  water-side.  Good-night !  Before  we  part,  how 
ever,  I  may  as  well  thank  you  for  the  supply  of  clothes  I 
see  you  have  put  in  my  hut.  It  was  scarcely  wanted,  as  I 
have  enough  needles  and  thread  to  supply  a  slop-shop  ;  and 
the  old  duck  left  by  the  French  will  keep  me  in  jackets  and 
trowsers  for  the  remainder  of  my  days.  Good-night,  my 
dear  boy  !  God  bless  you — God  bless  you  !" 

It  was  nearly  dark,  but  I  could  see  that  Marble's  eyes 
looked  moist,  and  feel  that  his  hand  again  trembled.  I  left 
him,  not  without  the  hope  that  the  solitude  of  this  night,  the 
frst  in  which  he  had  been  left  by  himself,  would  have  the 
eftcct  to  lessen  his  desire  to  be  a  hermit.  When  I  turned  in, 
it  was  understood  that  all  hands  were  to  be  called  at  day 
light,  and  the  ship  unmoored. 

Talcott  came  to  call  me,  at  the  indicated  moment.  I  had 
made  him  chief-mate,  and  taken  one  of  the  Phrladelphians 


308  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

for  second  officer ;  a  young  man  who  had  every  requisite 
for  the  station,  and  one  more  than  was  necessary,  or  a  love 
of  liquor.  But,  drunkards  do  tolerably  well  on  board  a 
ship  in  which  reasonable  discipline  is  maintained.  For  thai 
matter,  Neptune  ought  to  be  a  profound  moralist,  as  youths 
are  very  generally  sent  to  sea  to  cure  most  of  the  ethical 
'lings.  Talcott  was  directed  to  unmoor,  arid  heave  short. 
As  for  myself,  I  got  into  a  boat  and  pulled  ashore,  with  an 
intention  of  making  a  last  and  strong  appeal  to  Marble. 

No  one  was  visible  on  the  island  when  we  reached  it. 
The  pigs  and  fowls  were  already  in  motion,  however,  and 
were  gathering  near  the  door  of  the  hut,  where  Marble  was 
accustomed  to  feed  them  about  that  hour  ;  the  fowls  on 
sugar,  principally.  1  proceeded  to  the  door,  opened  it,  en 
tered  the  place,  and  found  it  empty !  Its  late  inmate  wao 
then  up,  and  abroad.  He  had  probably  passed  a  sleepless 
night,  and  sought  relief  in  the  fresh  air  of  the  morning.  I 
looked  for  him  in  the  adjacent  grove,  on  the  outer  beach, 
and  in  most  of  his  usual  haunts.  He  was  nowhere  visible. 
A  little  vexed  at  having  so  long  a  walk  before  me,  at  a  mo 
ment  when  we  were  so  much  pressed  for  time,  I  was  about 
to  follow  the  grove  to  a  distant  part  of  the  island,  to  a  spot 
that  I  knew  Marble  frequented  a  good  deal,  when  moody ; 
but  my  steps  were  arrested  by  an  accidental  glance  at  the 
lagoon.  I  missed  the  Frenchman's  launch,  or  the  boat  I 
had  myself  caused  to  be  rigged  with  so  much  care,  the  pre 
vious  day,  for  the  intended  hermit's  especial  advantage. 
This  was  a  large  boat ;  one  that  had  been  constructed  to 
weigh  a  heavy  anchor ;  and  I  had  left  her,  moored  between 
a  grapnel  and  the  shore,  so  securely,  as  to  forbid  the  idea 
she  could  have  been  moved,  in  so  quiet  a  time,  without  the 
aid  of  hands.  Rushing  to  the  water,  I  got  into  my  own 
boat,  and  pulled  directly  on  board. 

On  reaching  the  ship,  a  muster  of  all  hands  was  ordered. 
The  result  proved  that  everybody  was  present,  and  at  duty. 
It  followed  that  Marble,  alone,  had  carried  the  boat  out  of 
the  lagoon.  The  men  who  had  had  the  anchor-watches 
during  the  past  night,  were  questioned  on  the  subject ;  but 
no  one  had  seen  or  heard  anything  of  a  movement  in  the 
launch.  Mr.  Talcott  was  told  to  continue  his  duty,  while 
I  went  aloft  myself,  to  look  at  the  offing.  I  was  soon  in 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  309 

the  main-top-mast  cross-trees,  where  a  view  was  commanded 
of  the  whole  island,  a  few  covers  excepted,  of  all  the  water 
within  the  reef,  and  of  a  wide  range  without.  Nowhere 
was  the  boat  or  Marble  to  be  seen.  It  was  barely  possible 
that  he  had  concealed  himself  behind  the  wreck,  though  I 
did  not  see  how  even  this  could  be  done,  unless  he  had 
taken  the  precaution  to  strike  the  launch's  masts. 

By  this  time,  our  last  anchor  was  aweigh,  and  the  ship 
was  clear  of  the  bottom.  The  top-sails  had  been  hoisted 
before  I  went  aloft,  and  everything  was  now  ready  for  filling 
away.  Too  anxious  to  go  on  deck,  under  such  circum 
stances,  and  a  lofty  position  being  the  best  for  ascertaining 
the  presence  of  rocks,  I  determined  to  remain  where  I  was, 
and  conn  the  ship  through  the  passes,  in  my  own  person. 
An  order  was  accordingly  given  to  set  the  jib,  and  to  swing 
the  head-yards,  and  get  the  spanker  on  the  ship.  In  a 
minute,  the  Crisis  was  again  in  motion,  moving  steadily 
towards  the  inlet.  As  the  lagoon  was  not  entirely  free 
from  danger,  coral  rocks  rising  in  places  quite  near  the  sur 
face  of  the  water,  I  was  obliged  to  be  attentive  to  the  pilot's 
duty,  until  we  got  into  the  outer  bay,  when  this  particular 
danger  in  a  great  measure  disappeared.  I  could  then  look 
about  me  with  more  freedom.  Though  we  so  far  changed 
our  position,  as  respected  the  wreck,  as  to  open  new  views 
of  it,  no  launch  was  to  be  seen  behind  it.  By  the  time  the 
ship  reached  the  passage  through  the  reef,  I  had  little  hope 
of  finding  it  there. 

We  had  got  to  be  too  familiar  with  the  channels,  to  have 
any  difficulty  in  taking  the  ship  through  them  ;  and  we 
were  soon  fairly  to  windward  of  the  reef.  Our  course, 
however,  lay  to  leeward  ;  and  we  passed  round  the  southern 
side  of  the  rocks,  under  the  same  easy  canvass,  until  we  got 
abreast,  and  within  half  a  cable's  length  of  the  wreck.  To 
aid  my  own  eyes,  I  had  called  up  Talcott  and  Neb ;  but 
neither  of  us  could  obtain  the  least  glimpse  of  the  launch. 
Nothing  was  to  be  seen  about  the  wreck ;  though  I  took  the 
precaution  to  send  a  boat  to  it.  All  was  useless.  Marble 
had  gone  out  to  sea,  quite  alone,  in  the  Frenchman's  launch; 
and,  though  twenty  pairs  of  eyes  were  now  aloft,  no  one 
could  even  fancy  that  he  saw  anything  in  the  offing,  that 
resembled  a  boat. 


310  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

Talcott  and  myself  had  a  private  interview  on  the  subject 
of  Marble's  probable  course.  My  mate  was  of  opinion,  that 
our  friend  had  made  the  best  of  his  way  for  some  of  the 
inhabited  islands,  unwilling  to  remain  here,  when  it  camo 
to  the  pinch,  and  yet  ashamed  to  rejoin  us.  I  could  hardly 
believe  this  ;  in  such  a  case,  I  thought  he  would  have  waited 
until  we  had  sailed;  when  he  might  have  left  the  island  also, 
and  nobody  been  the  wiser.  To  this  Talcott  answered  that 
Marble  probably  feared  our  importunities ;  possibly,  com 
pulsion.  It  seemed  singular  to  me,  that  a  man  who  regretted 
his  hasty  decision,  should  adopt  such  a  course ;  and  yet  I 
was  at  a  loss  to  explain  the  matter  much  more  to  my  own 
satisfaction.  Nevertheless,  there  was  no  remedy.  We 
were  as  much  in  the  dark  as  it  was  possible  to  be  with  a 
knowledge  of  the  circumscdnce  that  the  bird  had  flown. 

We  hovered  around  the  reef  for  several  hours,  most  of 
which  time  I  passed  in  the  cross-trees,  and  some  of  it  on  the 
royal-yard.  Once,  I  thought  I  saw  a  small  speck  on  the 
ocean,  dead  to  windward,  that  resembled  a  boat's  sail ;  but 
there  were  so  many  birds  flying  about,  and  glancing  beneath 
the  sun's  rays,  that  I  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  admit  it 
was  probably  one  of  them.  At  meridian,  therefore,  I  gave 
the  order  to  square  away,  and  to  make  sail  on  our  course. 
This  was  done  with  the  greatest  reluctance,  however,  and 
not  without  a  good  deal  of  vacillation  of  purpose.  The  ship 
moved  away  from  the  land  rapidly,  and  by  two  o'clock,  the 
line  of  cocoa-nut  trees  that  fringed  the  horizon  astern,  sunk 
entirely  beneath  the  rolling  margin  of  our  view.  From  that 
moment,  I  abandoned  the  expectation  of  ever  seeing  Moses 
Marble  again,  though  the  occurrence  left  all  of  us  sad, 
for  several  days. 

Major  Merton  and  his  daughter  were  on  the  poop,  nearly 
the  whole  of  this  morning.  Neither  interfered  in  the  least; 
for  the  old  soldier  was  too  familiar  with  discipline  to  venture 
an  opinion  concerning  the  management  of  the  ship.  When 
we  met  at  dinner,  however,  the  conversation  naturally  turned 
on  the  disappearance  of  our  old  friend. 

"  It  is  a  thousand  pities  that  pride  should  have  prevented 
Marble  from  acknowledging  his  mistake,"  observed tbe  l\f,i- 
jor,  "  and  thus  kept  him  from  getting  a  safe  passage  to  Can- 


APLoAT      AND     ASHORE.  311 

ton,  where  he  might  have  left  you,  and  joined  another  ship, 
had  he  thought  it  necessary." 

'  "  Where  we  shall  do  the  same  thing,  I  suppose,  dear  sir," 
added  Emily,  with  a  manner  that  I  thought  marked,  "  and 
thus  relieve  Captain  Wallmgford  from  the  encumbrance  of 
our  presence." 

"  Me  ! — call  your  delightful  society  anything  but  an  en 
cumbrance,  I  beg  of  you,  Miss  Merton,"  I  rejoined  in  haste. 
'  Now,  that  Mr.  Le  Compte  has  furnished  this  comfortable 
cabin,  and  you  are  no  longer  at  any  inconvenience  to  your 
selves,  I  would  not  be  deprived  of  the  advantage  and  plea 
sure  of  this  association,  for  more  than  I  dare  mention." 

Emily  looked  gratified ;  while  her  father  appeared  to  me  to 
be  thoughtful.  After  a  brief  pause,  however,  the  Major  re 
sumed  the  discourse. 

"I  should  certainly  feel  myself  bound  to  make  many 
apologies  for  the  trouble  we  are  giving,"  he  said,  "  espe 
cially,  since  I  understand  from  Wallingfbrd,  he  will  not  ac 
cept,  either  for  himself  or  his  owners,  anything  like  com 
pensation  even  for  the  food  we  consume,  were  it  not  that  we 
are  here  by  constraint,  and  not  by  any  agency  of  our  own. 
As  soon  as  we  reach  Canton,  however,  I  shall  feel  it  a  duty 
to  get  on  board  the  first  English  ship  that  will  receive  us." 

I  stole  a  glance  at  Emily,  but  could  not  understand  the 
expression  of  her  countenance,  as  she  heard  this  announce 
ment.  Of  course,  I  made  an  earnest  protest  against  the 
Major's  doing  anything  of  the  sort ;  and  yet  I  could  not 
well  find  any  sufficient  reason  for  urging  him  to  remain 
where  he  was,  beyond  my  own  gratification.  I  could  no 
go  to  either  England,  or  Bombay ;  and  I  took  it  for  granted 
Major  Merton  wished  to  proceed,  at  once,  to  one,  if  not  to 
both  of  these  places.  We  conversed,  a  little  generally  pcr- 
hapj,  on  the  subject  for  some  time  longer ;  and  when  I  left 
the  cabin,  it  struck  me,  Emily's  melancholy  had,  in  no  de 
gree,  lessened. 

It  is  a  long  road  to  traverse  over  half  of  the  Pacific. 
Weeks  and  weeks  were  thus  occupied ;  Talcott  and  myself 
profiting  by  every  suitable  occasion,  to  enjoy  the  advantage* 
of  the  association  chance  had  thus  thrown  in  our  way.  I 
make  no  doubt  I  was  greatly  benefited  by  my  constant  com- 


312  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

munications  with  the  Mertons ;  the  Major  being  a  cultivated, 
though  not  a  particularly  brilliant,  man  ;  while  I  conceive  it 
to  be  utterly  impossible  for  two  young  men,  of  our  time  ot . 
life  and  profession,  to  be  daily,  almost  hourly,  in  the  com 
pany  of  a  young  woman  like  Emily  Merton,  without  losing 
some  of  the  peculiar  roughness  of  the  sea,  and  getting,  in 
its  place,  some  small  portion  of  the  gentler  qualities  of  the 
saloon.  I  date  a  certain  a  plamb,  an  absence  of  shyness  in 
the  company  of  females,  from  this  habitual  intercourse  with 
one  of  the  sex  who  had,  herself,  been  carefully  educated  in 
the  conventionalities  of  respectable,  if  not  of  very  elegant 
or  sophisticated  society. 

At  length  we  reached  the  China  seas,  and  falling  in  to 
windward,  we  made  a  quick  run  to  Canton.  It  now  became 
necessary  for  me  to  attend  to  the  ship  and  the  interests  of 
my  owners  ;  suffering  my  passengers  to  land  at  Whampoa, 
with  the  understanding  we  were  to  meet  before  either  party 
sailed.  I  soon  disposed  of  the  sandal-wood  and  skins,  and 
found  no  difficulty  in  procuring  teas,  nankins,  china-ware, 
and  the  other  articles  pointed  out,  in  the  instructions  to  poor 
Captain  Williams.  I  profited  by  the  occasion,  also,  to  make 
certain  purchases  on  my  own  account,  that  I  had  a  presen 
timent  would  be  particularly  agreeable  to  the  future  mistress 
of  Clawbonny,  let  that  lady  turn  out  to  be  whomsoever  she 
might.  The  dollars  obtained  on  the  west  coast  of  South 
America  enabled  "me  to  do  this;  my  instructions  giving  the 
necessary  authority  to  use  a  few  of  them  on  private  account. 
My  privilege  as  master  rendered  all  proper. 

In  a  word,  the  residence  of  six  or  eight  weeks  r*  Canton, 
proved  a  very  advantageous  affair  for  those  whose  money 
was  embarked  in  the  Crisis.  Sandal-wood  and  sea-otter 
skins  brought  particularly  high  prices  ;  while  teas,  and  the 
manufactures  of  the  country,  happened  to  be  low.  I  had  no 
merit  in  this ;  not  a  particle  ;  and  yet  I  reaped  the  advan 
tage,  so  far  as  advantage  was  connected  with  the  mere  repu 
tation  of  the  voyage ;  success  being  of  nearly  as  great 
account  in  commerce,  as  in  war.  It  is  true,  I  worked  like 
a  dog ;  for  I  worked  under  an  entirely  novel  sense  of  re 
sponsibility,  and  with  a  feeling  I  am  certain  that  could  never 
have  oppressed  me  in  the  care  of  my  own  property  ;  and  * 
deserved  some  portion  of  the  credit  subsequently  obtained 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  313 

At  all  events,  I  was  heartily  rejoiced  when  the  hatches  were 
on,  and  the  ship  was  once  more  ready  for  sea. 

It  now  became  a  duly,  as  well  as  a  pleasure,  to  seek 
Major  Merton,  whom  I  had  seen  but  once  or  twice  during 
the  last  two  months.  He  had  passed  that  time  at  Whampao, 
while  I  had  been  either  at  the  factories,  or  on  board.  The 
Major  was  occupied  when  I  called ;  and  Emily  received  me 
alone.  When  she  learned  that  I  was  ready  to  sail  for  home, 
and  had  come  to  take  my  leave,  it  was  easy  to  see  that  she 
was  uneasy,  if  not  distressed.  I  felt  unhappy  at  parting  too, 
and  perhaps  I  had  less  scruple  about  saying  as  much. 

"  God  only  knows,  Miss  Merton,  whether  we  are  ever  to 
be  permitted  to  see  each  other  again,"  I  remarked,  after  the 
preliminary  explanations  had  been  made. 

The  reader  will  remember  that  I  am  now  an  old  man, 
and  that  vanity  no  longer  has  any  of  that  influence  over  rne 
which  it  might  be  supposed  to  possess  over  one  of  more 
juvenile  hopes  and  feelings ;  that  I  relate  facts,  without  re 
ference  to  their  effect  on  myself,  beyond  the  general  salvo 
of  some  lingering  weaknesses  of  humanity.  I  trust,  there 
fore,  I  shall  be  understood  in  all  my  necessary  allusions  to 
the  estimation  in  which  I  was  apparently  held  by  others. 
Emily  fairly  started  when  I  made  this  remark  concerning 
the  probable  duration  of  the  approaching  separation,  and  the 
colour  left  her  cheek.  Her  pretty  white  hand  shook,  so 
that  she  had  difficulty  in  using  her  needle;  and  there  was 
an  appearance  of  agitation  and  distress  about  the  charming 
girl,  that  I  had  never  before  witnessed  in  one  whose  manner 
was  usually  so  self-possessed  and  calm.  I  now  know  the 
reason  why  I  did  not  throw  myself  on  my  knees,  and  beg 
the  charming  girl  to  consent  to  accompany  me  to  America, 
though  I  wondered  at  myself  afterwards,  when  I  came  to 
reflect  coolly  on  all  that  passed,  for  my  stoicism.  I  will  not 
affirm  that  I  fancied  Emily's  agitation  to  be  altogether  owing 
to  myself;  but  I  confess  to  an  inability  to  account  for  it,  in 
any  other  manner,  as  agreeable  to  myself.  The  appearance 
of  Major  Merton  at  that  instant,  however,  prevented  every 
thing  like  a  scene,  and  probably  restored  us  both  to  a  con 
sciousness  of  the  necessity  of  seeming  calm.  As  for  the 
Major,  himself,  he  was  evidently  far  from  being  unconcerned, 
something  having  occurred  to  disturb  him.  So  very  appa- 
27 


314  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

rent  was  this,  that  I  commenced  the  discourse  by  asking  if 
he  were  unwell. 

"  Always  that,  I  fear,  Miles,"  he  answered  ;  "  my  physi 
cian  has  just  told  me  frankly,  unless  I  get  into  a  cold  cli 
mate  as  soon  as  possible,  my  life  will  not  be  worth  six 
months'  purchase." 

"  Then  sail  with  me,  sir,"  I  cried,  with  an  eagerness  and 
heartiness  that  must  have  proved  my  sincerity.  "  Happily, 
I  am  not  too  late  to  make  the  offer  j  and,  as  for  getting 
away,  I  am  ready  to  sail  to-morrow !" 

"  I  am  forbidden  to  go  near  Bombay,"  continued  the 
Major,  looking  anxiously  at  his  daughter ;  "  and  that  ap 
pointment  must  be  abandoned.  If  I  could  continue  to  hold 
it,  there  is  no  probability  of  a  chance  to  reach  my  station 
this  half-year." 

"  So  much  the  better  for  me,  sir.  In  four  or  five  months 
from  this  moment,  I  will  land  you  in  New  York,  where  you 
wilt  find  the  climate  cold  enough  for  any  disease.  I  ask  you 
as  friends — as  guests — not  as  passengers  ;  and  to  prove  it, 
the  table  of  the  upper  cabin,  in  future,  shall  be  mine.  I 
have  barely  left  room  in  the  lower  cabin  to  sleep  or  dress 
in,  having  filled  it  with  my  own  private  venture,  as  is  my 
right." 

"  You  are  as  generous  as  kind,  Miles ;  but  what  will  your 
owners  think  of  such  an  arrangement  ?" 

"  They  have  no  right  to  complain.  The  cabin  and  pas 
sengers,  should  any  of  the  last  offer,  after  deducting  a  very 
small  allowance  for  the  ship's  portion  of  the  food  and  water, 
are  mine  by  agreement.  All  the  better  food  1  find  at  my 
own  charge ;  and,  should  you  insist  on  remunerating  the 
owners  for  the  coarser,  or  such  as  they  find,  you  can  do  so, 
it  will  be  less  than  a  hundred  dollars,  at  the  most." 

"  On  these  conditions,  then,  I  shall  thankfully  profit  by 
your  offer ;  attaching,  however,  one  more  that  I  trust  you 
may  be  permitted  to  fulfil.  It  is  important  to  me  that  I 
reach  England-— can  you  touch  at  St.  Helena?" 

"  Willingly,  if  it  be  your  wish.  The  health  of  the  crew, 
moreover,  may  render  it  desirable." 

"  There,  then,  I  will  qujt  you,  if  an  opportunity  offer  tc 
proceed  to  England.  Our  Bargain  is  made,  dear  Miles ;  and 
to-morrow  I  shall  be  ready  to  embark." 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  315 

I  think  Emily  never  looked  more  beautiful  than  she  did 
while  listening  to  this  arrangement.  It  doubtless  relieved 
her  mind  on  the  painful  subject  of  her  father's  health,  and  I 
fancied  it  relieved  it  also  on  the  subject  of  our  own  imme 
diate  separation.  Months  must  elapse  before  we  could  reach 
St.  Helena  ;  and  who  could  foresee  what  those  months  might 
bring  forth  1  As  I  had  a  good  deal  to  do  at  such  a  moment, 
I  took  my  leave,  with  my  feelings  lightened,  as  it  might  be, 
of  a  burthen.  The  reader  will  at  once  infer,  I  was  in  love. 
But  he  will  be  mistaken.  I  was  not  in  love ;  though  my 
imagination,  to  use  a  cant  phrase  of  some  of  the  sects,  was 
greatly  exercised.  Lucy,  even  then,  had  a  hold  of  my  heart 
in  a  way  of  which  I  was  ignorant  myself;  but  it  was  not  in 
nature  for  a  youth,  just  approaching  his  majority,  to  pass 
months  and  months,  almost  alone,  in  the  society  of  a  lovely 
girl  who  was  a  year  or  two  his  junior,  and  not  admit  some 
degree  of  tenderness  towards  her  in  his  feelings.  The  cir 
cumstances  were  sufficient  to  try  the  constancy  of  the  most 
faithful  swain  that  ever  lived.  Then,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  I  had  never  professed  love  to  Lucy — was  not  at  all 
aware  that  she  entertained  any  other  sentiment  towards  me 
than  that  she  entertained  towards  Rupert ;  whereas  Emily — 
but  I  will  not  prove  myself  a  coxcomb  on  paper,  whatever  I 
might  have  been,  at  the  moment,  in  my  own  imagination. 

Next  day,  at  the  appointed  hour,  I  had  the  happiness  to 
receive  my  old  passengers.  It  struck  me  that  Talcott 
was  as  much  gratified  as  I  was  myself;  for  he,  too,  had 
both  pleasure  and  improvement  in  Emily  Merton's  society. 
It  has  often  been  said  that  the  English  East-India  ships  are 
noted  for  quarrelling  and  making  love.  The  quarrels  may 
be  accounted  for  on  the  same  p-;nciple  as  the  love-making, 
viz.,  propinquity  ;  the  same  proximity  producing  hostility  in 
vhose  sterner,  natures,  that,  in  others  of  a  gentler  cast,  pro 
duces  its  opposite  feeling.  We  sailed,  and  it  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  tell  the  reader  how  much  the  tedium  of  so  long 
3.  voyage,  and  the  monotony  of  a  sea-voyage,  was  relieved 
by  the  graces  and  gentle  intercourse  of  our  upper  cabin. 
The  other  apartment  being  so  crowded  and  hot,  I  passed 
most  of  my  time  in  the  poop,  which  was  both  light  and  airy. 
Here  I  generally  found  the  father  and  daughter,  though 
often  the  latter  alone.  I  played  reasonably  well  en  the  flute 


316  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

and  violin,  and  had  learned  to  accompany  Emily  on  her 
piano,  which,  it  will  be  remembered,  Mons.  Le  Compte  had 
caused  to  be  transferred  from  the  Bombay  ship  to  his  own 
vessel,  and  which  had  subsequently  been  saved  from  the 
wreck. 

Talcott  played  also  on  the  flute,  far  better  than  I  did  my- 
self;  and  we  frequently  made  a  trio,  producing  very  respect 
able  sea-music — better,  indeed,  than  Neptune  often  got  for 
his  smiles.  In  this  manner,  then,  we  travelled  our  long 
road,  sometimes  contending  with  head-winds  and  cross-seas, 
sometimes  becalmed,  and  sometimes  slipping  along  at  a  rate 
that  rendered  everybody  contented  and  happy. 

In  passing  the  Straits  of  Sunda,  I  related  to  Major  Merton 
and  Emily  the  incidents  of  the  John's  affair  with  the  proas, 
and  her  subsequent  loss  on  the  island  of  Madagascar ;  and 
was  rewarded  by  the  interest  they  took  in  the  tale.  We  all 
spoke  of  Marble,  as  indeed  we  often  did,  and  expressed  our 
regrets  at  his  absence.  The  fate  of  my  old  shipmate  was 
frequently  discussed  among  us,  there  being  a  great  diversity 
of  opinion  on  the  subject.  As  for  the  Major,  he  thought 
poor  Marble  must  be  lost  at  sea,  for  he  did  not  perceive  how 
any  one  man  could  manage  a  boat  all  alone  by  himself. 
Talcott,  who  had  juster  notions  of  what  a  seaman  could  do, 
was  of  opinion  that  our  late  commander  had  run  to  leeward, 
in  the  hope  of  finding  some  inhabited  island,  preferring  the 
association  of  even  cannibals,  when  it  came  to  the  trying 
moment,  to  total  solitude.  I  thought  he  had  gone  to  wind 
ward,  the  boat  being  so  well  equipped  for  that  service,  and 
that  Marble  was  in  the  expectation  of  falling  in  with  some 
of  the  whalers,  who  were  known  to  be  cruising  in  certain 
latitudes.  I  was  greatly  struck,  however,  by  a  remark  made 
by  Emily,  on  the  evening  of  the  very  day  when  we  passed 
the  Straits  of  Sunda. 

"  Should  the  truth  be  ever  known,  gentlemen,"  she  said, 
"  I  am  of  opinion  it  will  be  found  that  poor  Mr.  Marble  only 
left  the  island  to  escape  from  your  importunities,  and  re 
turned  to  it  after  the  ship  disappeared;  and  that  he  is  there 
at  this  moment,  enjoying  all  the  happiness  of  a  hermit." 

This  might  be  true,  and  from  that  hour  the  thought  would 
occasionally  recur  to  my  mind.  As  I  looked  forward  to 
passing  at  least  several  more  years  at  sea,  I  secretly  deter- 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  317 

mined  to  ascertain  the  fact  for  myself,  should  occasion  ever 
offer.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Crisis  had  reached  a  part  of 
the  ocean  where,  in  those  days,  it  was  incumbent  on  those 
who  had  the  charge  of  a  ship  to  keep  a  vigilant  look-out  for 
enemies.  It  seems  we  were  not  fated  to  run  the  gauntlet 
of  these  pirates  entirely  unharmed. 

Early  on  the  following  morning,  I  was  awoke  by  Talcott's 
giving  me  a  hearty  shake  of  the  shoulder. 

"  Turn  out  at  once,  Captain  Wallingford,"  cried  my  mate  ; 

"  the  rascals  are   closing   around  us  like   crows   about  a 

ircase.     As  bad  luck  will  have  it,  we  have  neither  room 

nor  breeze  to  spare.     Everything  looks  like  a  busy  morning 

for  us,  sir." 

In  just  three  minutes  from  that  moment,  I  was  on  deck, 
where  all  hands  were  soon  collected,  the  men  tumbling  up, 
with  their  jackets  in  their  hands.  Major  Merton  was  already 
on  the  poop,  surveying  the  scene  with  a  glass  of  his  own ; 
while  the  two  mates  were  clearing  away  the  guns,  and  get 
ting  the  ship  in  a  state  to  make  a  suitable  defence.  To  me, 
the  situation  was  altogether  novel.  I  had  been  six  times  in 
the  presence  of  enemies  before,  and  twice  as  commander ; 
but  never  under  circumstances  that  called  so  imperiously  for 
seamanship  and  good  conduct.  The  ocean  seemed  covered 
with  enemies,  Major  Merton  declaring  that  he  could  count 
no  less  than  twenty-eight  proas,  all  full  of  men,  and  some 
of  them  armed  with  artillery.  These  chaps  were  ahead, 
astern,  to  windward,  and  to  leeward  ;  and,  what  was  worse, 
they  had  just  wind  enough  to  suit  their  purposes,  there  being 
about  a  five-knot  breeze.  It  was  evident  that  the  craft  acted 
in  concert,  and  that  they  were  desperately  bent  on  our  cap 
ture,  having  closed  around  us  in  this  manner  in  the  night. 
Nevertheless,  we  were  a  warm  ship  for  a  merchantman ; 
and  not  a  man  in  the  Crisis  betrayed  any  feeling  that  indi 
cated  any  other  desire  than  a  wish  to  resist  to  the  last.  As 
for  Neb,  the  fellow  was  in  a  broad  grin,  the  whole  time ;  he 
considered  the  affair  as  a  bit  of  fun.  Yet  this  negro  was 
afraid  to  visit  certain  places  about  the  farm  in  the  dark,  and 
could  not  have  been  induced  to  cross  a  church-yard  alone, 
under  a  bright  sun,  I  feel  well  persuaded.  He  was  the  oddest 
mixture  of  superstitious  dread  and  lion-hearted  courage,  I 
ever  naet  with  in  my  life. 
27* 


318  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

It  was  still  early,  when  the  proas  were  near  enough  to 
commence  serious  operations.  This  they  did,  by  a  nearly 
simultaneous  discharge  of  about  a  dozen  guns,  principally 
sixes,  that  they  carried  mounted  in  their  bows.  The  shot 
came  whistling  in  among  our  spars  and  rigging,  literally 
from  every  direction,  and  three  struck,  though  they  were 
not  of  a  size  to  do  any  serious  injury.  Our  people  were  at 
quarters,  having  managed  to  man  both  batteries,  though  it 
left  scarcely  any  one  to  look  after  the  braces  and  rigging, 
and  none  but  the  officers  with  small-arms. 

Mr.  Merton  must  have  felt  that  he  and  his  daughter's 
liberty,  if  not  their  lives,  were  in  the  .keeping  of  a  very 
youthful  commander ;  still,  his  military  habits  of  subordina 
tion  were  so  strong,  he  did  not  venture  even  a  suggestion. 
I  had  my  own  plan,  and  was  just  of  an  age  to  think  it  de 
rogatory  to  my  rankj  to  ask  advice  of  any  one.  The  proas 
were  strongest  ahead  and  on  both  bows,  where  they  were 
collecting  to  the  number  of  near  twenty,  evidently  with  the 
intention  of  boarding,  should  an  opportunity  offer ;  while, 
astern,  and  on  our  quarter,  they  were  much  fewer,  and  far 
more  scattered.  The  reason  of  all  this  was  apparent  by 
our  course,  the  pirates  naturally  supposing  we  should  con 
tinue  to  stand  on. 

Orders  were  given  to  haul  up  the  mainsail  and  to  man 
the  spanker-brails.  The  men  were  taken  from  the  star 
board  battery,  exclusively,  to  perform  this  work.  When 
all  was  ready,  the  helm  was  put  up,  and  the  ship  was 
brought  as  short  round  on  her  heel,  as  possible,  hauling  up, 
on  an  easy  bowline,  on  the  other  tack.  In  coming  round, 
we  delivered  all  our  larboard  guns  among  the  crowd  of  ene 
mies,  well  crammed  with  grape  ;  and  the  distance  being  just 
right  for  scattering,  this  broadside  was  not  without  effect, 
As  soon  as  braced  up,  on  the  other  tack,  we  opened  star 
board  and  larboard,  on  such  of  the  chaps  as  came  within 
range ;  clearing  our  way  as  we  went.  The  headmost  proas 
all  came  round  in  chase ;  but,  being  from  half  a  mile  to  a 
mile  astern,  we  had  time  to.  open  a  way  out  of  the  circle, 
and  to  drive  all  the  proas  who  were  now  ahead  of  us,  to 
take  refuge  among  the  crowd  of  their  fellows.  The  ma 
noeuvre  was  handsomely  executed  ;  and,  in  twenty  minutes 
we  ceased  firing,  having  all  our  enemies  to  the  westward  of 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  319 

us,  and  in  one  group  :  this  was  an  immense  advantage,  as  it 
enabled  us  to  fight  with  a  single  broadside,  prevented  our 
being  raked,  and  rendered  our  own  fire  more  destructive,  by 
exposing  to  it  a  more  concentrated,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a 
larger  object  I  ought  to  have  said  before,  that  the  wind 
was  at  the  southward. 

The  Crisis  now  tacked,  setting  the  courses  and  royals. 
The  ship  lay  up  well,  and  the  proas  having  collected  around 
their  admiral,  there  was  a  prospect  of  her  passing  to  wind 
ward  of  everything.  Six  of  the  fellows,  however,  seemed 
determined  to  prevent  this,  by  hauling  close  on  a  wind,  and 
attempting  to  cross  our  bows,  firing  as  they  did  so.  The 
ship  stood  on,  apparently  as  if  to  intercept  them;  when, 
finding  ourselves  near  enough,  we  kept  away  about  three 
points,  and  swept  directly  down  in  the  very  centre  of  the 
main  body  of  the  proas.  As  this  was  done,  the  enemy, 
taken  by  surprise,  cleared  a  way  for  us,  and  we  passed  the 
whole  of  them,  delivering  grape  and  canister,  as  fast  as  we 
could  deal  it  out.  In  the  height  of  the  affair,  and  the  thick 
est  of  the  smoke,  three  or  four  of  the  proas  were  seen  quite 
near  us,  attempting  to  close  ;  but  I  did  not  think  it  necessary 
to  call  the  people  from  the  guns,  which  were  worked  with 
great  quickness,  and  did  heavy  execution.  I  fancy  the 
pirates  found  it  hotter  than  they  liked,  for  they  did  not  keep 
on  with  us;  though  our  lofty  sails  gave  us  an  advantage, 
and  would  have  enabled  us  to  leave  them,  had  they  pursued 
a  different  course.  As  it  was,  we  were  clear  of  them,  in 
about  five  minutes ;  and  the  smoke  beginning  to  rise,  we 
soon  got  a  view  of  what  had  been  done  in  that,  brief  space. 
In  order  to  increase  our  distance,  however,  we  still  kept 
away,  running  pretty  fast  through  the  water. 

By  the  confusion  which  prevailed  among  the  pirates,  the 
rascals  had  been  well  peppered.  One  had  actually  sunk, 
and  five  or  six  were  round  the  spot,  endeavouring  to  pick 
up  the  crew.  Three  more  had  suffered  in  their  spars,  and 
the  movements  indicated  that  nil  had  enough.  As  soon  as 
satisfied  of  this,  I  hauled  the  ship  up  to  her  course,  and  we 
continued  to  leave  the  cluster  of  boats,  which  remained 
around  the  spot  where  their  consort  had  pone  down.  Those 
of  the  fellows  to  windward,  however,  did  not  seem  disposed 
to  give  it  up,  but  followed  us  for  two  hours,  by  which  timo 


320  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE, 

the  rest  of  their  flotilla  were  hull  down.  Believing  there 
was  now  plenty  of  room,  I  tacked  towards  these  persevering 
gentry,  when  they  went  about  like  tops,  and  hauled  off 
sharp  on  a  wind.  We  tacked  once  more  to  our  course,  and 
were  followed  no  further. 

The  captain  of  a  pepper  ship  afterwards  told  me,  that  our 
assailants  lost  forty-seven  men,  mostly  killed,  or  died  of 
their  hurts,  and  that  he  had  understood  that  the  same 
officer  commanded  the  Crisis  that  had  commanded  the 
"  John,"  in  her  affair,  near  the  same  spot.  We  had  some 
rigging  cut,  a  few  of  our  spars  slightly  injured,  and  two 
men  hurt,  one  of  whom  happened  to  be  Neb.  The  man 
most  hurt  died  before  we  reached  the  Cape,  but  more  from 
the  want  of  surgical  assistance,  than  from  the  original 
character  of  his  wound.  As  for  Neb,  he  went  to  duty  before 
we  reached  St.  Helena.  For  my  part,  I  was  surprised  one 
of  the  proas  did  not  get  down  his  throat,  his  grin  being  wide 
enough,  during  the  whole  affair,  to  admit  of  the  passage  of 
a  two-decker. 

We  went  into  the  island,  as  had  been  agreed,  but  no  ship 
offering  and  none  being  expected  soon,  it  became  necessary 
for  my  passengers  to  continue  on  with  us  to  New  York. 
Emily  had  behaved  uncommonly  well  in  the  brush  with  the 
pirates,  and  everybody  was  glad  to  keep  her  in  the  ship. 
The  men  swore  she  brought  good  luck,  forgetting  that  the 
poor  girl  must  have  met  with  much  ill-luck,  in  order  to  be 
in  the  situation  in  which  she  was  actually  placed. 

Nothing  occurred  on  the  passage  from  St.  Helena  to  New 
York,  worthy  of  being  specially  recorded.  It  was  rather 
long,  but  I  cannot  say  it  was  unpleasant.  At  length  our 
reckoning  told  os  to  look  out  for  land.  The  Major  and 
Emily  were  on  deck,  all  expectation,  and  ere  long  we  heard 
the  welcome  cry.  A  hazy  cloud  was  just  visible  on  our 
lee-bow.  It  grew  more  and  more  dense  and  distinct,  until 
it  showed  the  hues  and  furrows  of  a  mountain-side.  The 
low  point  of  the  Hook,  and  the  higher  land!  beyond,  then 
came  in  view.  We  glided  past  the  light,  doubled  the  Spit. 
and  got  into  the  upper  bay,  just  an  hour  before  the  sun  of  a 
beautiful  day  in  June  was  setting.  This  was  in  the  yeas 
of  our  Lord  1802. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  321 


CHAPTEE  XXI. 

** Drink  !  drink!  to  whom  shall  we  drink? 
To  a  friend  or  a  mistress  ? — Come,  let  me  think  ! 
To  thpse  who  are  absent  or  those  who  are  here  ? 
To  the  dead  that  we  loved,  or  the  living1  still  dear  ? 
Alas  !  when  I  look  I  find  none  of  the  last ! 
The  present  is  barren — let 's  drink  to  the  past." 

PAULTMNQ. 

THOUGH  strictly  a  Manhattanese  as  a  sailor,  I  shall  not 
run  into  rhapsody  on  the  subject  of  the  beauties  of  the  in 
ner  or  outer  bay  of  this  prosperous  place.  No  man  but 
one  besotted  with  provincial  conceit  could  ever  think  of 
comparing  the  harbour  of  New  York  with  the  Bay  of  Na 
ples  ;  nor  do  I  know  two  places,  that  have  the  same  great 
elements  of  land  and  water  that  are  less  alike.  The  har 
bour  of  New  York  is  barely  pretty ;  not  a  particle  more,  if 
quite  as  much ;  while  the  Bay  of  Naples  is  almost  what  its 
owners  so  fondly  term  it,  "  a  little  bit  of  heaven,  fallen  upon 
earth."  On  the  other  hand,  however,  Naples,  as  a  haven, 
is  not  to  be  mentioned  in  the  same  breath  with  the  great 
American  mart,  which,  as  a  port,  has  no  competitor  within 
the  circle  of  my  knowledge,  Constantinople  alone  excepted. 
I  wish  my  semi-townsmen,  the  Manhattanese,  could  be  per 
suaded  of  these  facts,  as,  when  they  do  brag,  as  the  wisest 
of  mortals  sometimes  will,  they  might  brag  of  their  strong, 
and  not  of  their  weak  points,  as  is  now  too  often  the  case. 

The  Major,  Emily  and  myself,  stood  on  the  poop,  re 
garding  the  scene,  as  the  ship  glided  onward,  before  a  good 
south-east  breeze.  I  watched  the  countenances  of  my  com 
panions  with  interest,  for  I  had  the  nervousness  of  a  tyro 
and  a  provincial,  on  the  subject  of  the  opinions  of  the  people 
of  other  lands,  concerning  everything  that  affected  my  own. 
I  could  see  that  the  Major  was  not  particularly  struck ;  and 
I  .was  disappointed,  then,  whatever  may  be  my  opinion  now. 
Emily  better  answered  my  hopes.  Whether  the  charming 
girl  really  felt  the  vast  contrast  between  a  view  of  the  un 
broken  expanse  of  the  ocean,  and  the  scene  before  her,  or 


322  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

was  disposed  to  please  her  host,  she  did  not  hesitate  to  ex 
press  delight.  I  let  her  understand  how  much  I  was  grati 
fied  ;  and  thus  our  long,  long  voyage,  and  that,  so  far  as  de 
grees  of  longitude  were  concerned,  nearly  embraced  the 
circuit  of  the  earth,  may  be  said  to  have  terminated  with  the 
kindest  feelings. 

The  ship  was  off  Bcdlow's,  and  the  pilot  had  begun  to 
shorten  sail,  when  a  schooner  crossed  our  fore-foot,  beating 
down.  I  had  been  too  much  occupied  with  the  general 
movement  of  the  bay,  to  notice  one  small  craft ;  but,  this 
vessel  happening  to  tack  quite  near  us,  I  could  not  but  turn 
my  eyes  in  her  direction.  At  that  instant  I  heard  a  shout 
from  Neb,  who  was  furling  one  of  the  royals.  It  was  one 
of  those  irrepressible  "  nigger  gollies"  that  often  escaped  from 
the  fellow  involuntarily. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  uproar,  on  the  mizen-royal 
yard,"  I  called  out  angrily  —  for  the  style  of  my  ship  had 
now  become  an  object  of  concern  with  me.  "  Keep  silence, 
sir,  or  I'll  find  a  way  to  instruct  you  in  the  art." 

"Lord ! — masser  Mile — "  cried  the  negro,  pointing  eagerly 
towards  the  schooner — "  there  go  Pretty  Poll." 

It  was  our  old  craft  sure  enough,  and  I  hailed  her,  incon 
tinently. 

"  Pretty  Polly,  ahoy!" 
"Halloo!" 

"Where  are  you  bound,  sir ;  and  when  did  that  schooner 
get  in  from  the  Pacific?" 

"  We  are  bound  to  Martinique — The  Poll  got  home  from 
the  South  Seas  about  six  months  since.  This  is  her  third 
voyage  to  the  West  Indies,  since." 

Here  then  was  the  certainty  that  the  cargo  sent  home,  and 
the  letter  with  it,  were  all  safe.  I  must  be  expected,  and 
the  owners  would  soon  hear  of  my  arrival.  We  were  not 
kept  long  in  doubt ;  for,  as  the  ship  entered  the  Hudson,  a 
boat  approached,  and  in  her  were  two  of  the  principal  mem 
bers  of  our  firm.  I  had  seen  them,  and  that  is  all ;  but  my 
own  letters,  and  the  report  of  the  officer  who  brought  home 
the  schooner,  had  told  them  all  about  me.  Could  Nelson, 
after  his  victory  of  the  JNiIc,have  walked  into  the  King  of  Eng 
land's  private  cabinet  with  the  news  of  his  own  success,  his 
reception  would  not  have  been  more  flattering  than  that  I 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  323 

now  received.  I  was  "  Captain  Wallingforded"  at  every 
sentence ;  and  commendations  were  so  intermixed  with  in 
quiries  about  the  value  of  the  cargo,  that  I  did  not  know 
which  to  answer  first.  I  was  invited  to  dine  the  very  next 
day  by  both  the  gentlemen  in  the  same  breath  ;  and  when  I 
raised  some  objections  connected  with  the  duty  of  the  ship, 
the  invitations  were  extended  from  day  to  day,  for  a  week. 
So  very  welcome  is  he  who  brings  us  gold ! 

We  went  alongside  of  a  North  River  wharf,  and  had 
everything  secure,  just  as  the  sun  was  setting.  The  people 
were  then  allowed  to  go  ashore  for  the  night.  Not  a  soul 
of  them  asked  for  a  dollar;  but  the  men  walked  up  the  wharf 
attended  by  a  circle  of  admiring  landlords,  that  put  them 
all  above  want.  The  sailor  who  has  three  years'  pay  under 
his  lee,  is  a  sort  of  Rothschild  on  Jack's  Exchange.  All  the 
harpies  about  our  lads  knew  that  the  Crisis  and  her  teas, 
&c.  were  hypothecated  to  meet  their  own  ten  and  twenty 
dollar  advances. 

I  dressed  myself  hurriedly,  and  ordered  Neb  to  imitate 
my  example.  One  of  the  owners  had  kindly  volunteered  to 
see  Major  Merton  and  Emily  to  a  suitable  residence,  with  an 
alacrity  that  surprised  me.  But  the  influence  of  England, 
and  Englishmen,  in  all  America,  was  exceedingly  great 
forty  years  since.  This  was  still  more  true  in  New  York, 
than  in  the  country  generally ;  and  a  half-pay  English  Ma 
jor  was  a  species  of  nobleman  among  the  better  sort  of 
Manhattancse  of  that  day.  How  many  of  these  quasi  lords 
have  I  seen,  whose  patents  of  nobility  were  merely  the  com 
missions  of  captains  and  lieutenants,  signed  by  the  Majesty 
of  England  !  In  that  day  —  it  is  nonsense  to  deny  it  —  the 
man  who  had  served  against  the  country,  provided  he  was 
a  "  British  officer,"  was  a  better  man  than  he  who  had 
served  in  our  own  ranks.  This  was  true,  however,  only  as 
.egarded  society  ;  the  ballot-boxes,  and  the  people,  giving 
very  different  indications  of  their  sentiments  on  such  sub 
jects.  Nor  is  this  result,  so  far  as  New  York  was  con 
cerned,  as  surprising  as,  at  first  sight,  it  may  possibly  ap 
pear.  Viewed  as  a  class,  the  gentry  of  New  York  took 
sides  with  the  crown.  It  is  Iruo,  that  the  portion  of  this  gen 
try  which  might  almost  be  called  baronial — it  was  strictly 
manorial — was  pretty  equally  divided,  carrying  with  them 


324  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

their  collaterals ;  but  the  larger  portions  of  this  entire  class 
of  the  elite  of  society  took  sides  with  the  crown;  and  the 
peace  of '83  found  no  small  part  of  them  in  possession  of  their 
old  social  stations ;  the  confiscations  affecting  few  beyond  the 
most  important,  and  the  richest  of  the  delinquents.  I  can  give 
an  instance,  within  my  own  immediate  knowledge,  of  the  sort 
of  justice  of  these  confiscations.  The  head  of  one  of  the 
most  important  of  all  the  colonial  families,  was  a  man  of 
indolent  habits,  and  was  much  indisposed  to  any  active  pur 
suits.  This  gentleman  was  enormously  rich,  and  his  estates 
were  confiscated  and  sold.  Now  this  attainted  traitor  had 
a  younger  brother  who  was  actually  serving  in  the  British 
army  in  America,  his  regiment  sharing  in  the  battles  of 
Bunker  Hill,  Brandywine,  Monmouth,  &c.  But  the  Major 
was  a  younger  son ;  and,  in  virtue  of  that  republican  merit, 
he  escaped  the  consequences  of  his  adhesion  to  the  service 
of  the  crown;  and  after  the  revolution,  the  cadet  returned  to 
his  native  country,  took  quiet  possession  of  a  property  of  no 
inconsiderable  amount,  while  his  senior  passed  his  days  in 
exile,  paying  the  bitter  penalty  of  being  rich  in  a  revolution. 
It  was  a  consequence  of  the  peculiarities  first  mentioned, 
that  the  Manhattanese  society  set  so  high  a  value  on  Eng 
lish  connection.  They  still  admired,  as  the  provincial  only 
can  admire ;  and  they  worshipped,  as  the  provincial  wor 
ships  ;  or,  at  a  safe  distance.  The  strange  medley  of  truth, 
cant,  selfishness,  sophistry  and  good  faith,  that  founded  the 
political  hostility  to  the  movements  of  the  French  revolution, 
had  as  ardent  believers  in  this  country,  as  it  had  in  England 
itself;  and  this  contributed  to  sustain  the  sort  of  feeling  I 
have  described.  Of  t-he  fact,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  as  any 
one  will  testify  who  knew  New  York  society  forty  years  ago. 

No  wonder  then,  that  Major  Merton  and  Emily  fared 
well,  on  their  sudden  arrival  in  the  country.  Some  ro 
mance,  moreover,  was  attached  to  their  adventures ;  and  I  had 
no  great  reason  to  give  myself  any  anxiety  on  their  account. 
There  was  little  doubt  of  their  soon  being  much  more  at 
home,  than  I  could  hope  to  be,  though  in  my  native  land. 

Neb  soon  reported  himself  ready  for  shore-duty,  and  I 
ordered  him  to  follow  me.  It  was  my  intention  to  proceed 
to  the  counting-house  of  the  owners,  to  receive  some  letters 
that  B waited  me,  and,  after  writing  short  answers,  to  des 


AFLOA^      AND      ASHORE.  325 

patch  the  black  at  once  to  Clawbonny,  with  the  intelligence 
of  my  return.  In  1802,  the  Battery  was  the  court-end  of 
the  town,  and  it  was  a  good  deal  frequented  by  the  better 
classes,  particularly  at  the  hour  at  which  I  was  now  about 
to  cross  it.  I  have  never  returned  from  a  voyage,  especially 
to  Europe,  without  being  particularly  struck  with  two  things 
in  the  great  Western  Emporium  —  since  the  common 
councils  and  the  editors  insist  on  the  word  —  viz.,  the  pro 
vincial  appearance  of  everything  that  meets  the  eye,  and  the 
beauty  of  the  younger  females ;  meaning,  however,  by  the 
last,  the  true,  native,  portion  of  the  population,  and  not  the 
throng  from  Ireland  and  Germany,  who  now  crowd  the 
streets ;  and  who,  certainly,  as  a  body,  are  not  in  the  least 
remarkable  for  personal  charms.  But  an  American  can 
tell  an  American,  man  or  woman,  as  soon  as  he  lays  eyes 
on  either ;  and  there  were  few  besides  native  girls  on  the 
Battery  at  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing.  As  there  were 
many  children  taking  their  evening  walk,  and  black  servants 
were  far  more  common  than  now,  Neb  had  his  share  of  de 
lights,  too,  and  I  heard  him  exclaim  "  Golly  !"  twice,  before 
we  reached  the  centre  of  the  Battery.  This  exclamation 
escaped  him  on  passing  as  many  sable  Venuses,  each  of 
whom  bridled  up  at  the  fellow's  admiration,  and  doubtless  was 
as  much  offended  as  the  sex  is  apt  to  be  on  such  occasions. 
I  must  have  passed  twenty  young  women,  that  evening, 
either  of  whom  would  induce  a  youth  to  turn  round  to  look 
again  ;  and,  for  the  moment,  I  forgot  my  errand.  Neither 
Neb  nor  I  was  in  any  hurry.  We  were  strolling  along,  in 
this  manner,  gazing  right  and  left,  when  a  party  approach 
ed,  under  the  trees,  that  drew  all  my  attention  to  itself.  In 
front  walked  a  young  man  and  young  woman,  who  were 
dressed  simply,  but  with  a  taste  that  denoted  persons  of  the 
better  class.  The  former  was  remarkable  for  nothing,  unless 
it  might  be  a  rattling  vivacity,  of  which  large  doses  were 
administered  to  his  fair  companion,  who,  seemingly,  swal 
lowed  it  less  reluctantly  than  doses  of  another  sort  are  so 
often  received.  At  least,  I  thought  so,  while  the  two  were 
at  a  distance,  by  the  beautiful  glistening  teeth  that  were 
shining  like  my  own  spotless  pearls,  between  lips  of  coral. 
The  air,  beauty,  figure,  and,  indeed,  all  connected  with  this 
singularly  lovely  young  creature,  struck  my  imagination  at 
28 


326  AFLOAT     AtfD     ASHORE. 

once.  It  was  not  so  much  her  beauty,  though  that  was  de 
cided  and  attractive,  as  the  admixture  of  feminine  delicacy 
with  blooming  health ;  the  walk,  so  natural  and  yet  so  full 
of  lightness  and  grace ;  the  laugh,  so  joyous  and  still  so 
quiet  and  suited  to  her  sex ;  and  the  entire  air  and  manner, 
which  denoted  equally,  buoyant  health  and  happiness,  the 
gracefulness  of  one  who  thought  not  of  herself,  and  the 
refinement  which  is  quite  as  much  the  gift  of  native  senti 
ment,  as  the  fruit  of  art  and  association.  I  could  not  tell 
what  her  companion  was  saying ;  but,  as  they  approached,  I 
fancied  them  acknowledged  lovers,  on  whom  fortune,  friends, 
and  circumstances  smiled  alike.  A  glance  aside  told  me 
that  even  Neb  was  struck  by  the  being  before  him,  and  that 
he  had  ceased  looking  at  the  sable  Venuses,  to  gaze  at  this. 

I  could  not  keep  my  gaze  off  the  face  of  this  lovely  crea 
ture,  who  did  not  let  me  get  a  good  look  of  her  dark-blue 
eyes,  however,  until  I  was  quite  near,  when  they  were  na 
turally  turned  towards  the  form  that  approached.  For  a 
few  seconds,  while  in  the  very  act  of  passing,  we  looked  in 
tently  at  each  other,  and  the  charm  said  to  be  possessed  by 
certain  animals,  was  not  more  powerful  than  was  our  mutual 
gaze.  In  this  manner  we  had  actually  passed  each  othei4, 
and  I  was  still  in  a  sort  of  mystified  trance,  when  I  heard 
suddenly,  in  a  voice  and  tone  that  caused  every  nerve  to 
thrill  within  me,  the  single  word — 

"  Miles  !" 

Turning,  and  taking  another  look,  it  was  impossible  any 
longer  to  mistake.  Lucy  Hardinge  stood  before  me,  trem 
bling,  uncertain,  her  face,  now  pale  as  death,  now  flushed  to 
scarlet,  her  hands  clasped,  her  look  doubting,  eager,  shrink 
ing,  equally  denoting  hope  and  fear,  and  all  so  blended,  as 
to  render  her  the  most  perfect  picture  of  female  truth,  feel 
ing,  diffidence,  and  natural  modesty,  I  had  ever  beheld. 

"  Lucy  —  is  it  —  can  it  be  possible  !  —  It  is  then  yow,  I 
tnought  so  gloriously  beautiful,  and  that  without  knowing 
you,  too." 

I  take  it  for  granted,  had  I  studied  a  wonk,  I  should  not 
have  composed  a  more  grateful  salutation  than  this,  which 
burst  forth  in  a  way  that  set  all  the  usual  restraints  of  man 
ners  at  defiance.  Of  course,  I  felt  bound  to  go  through  with 
the  matter  as  prosperously  as  I  had  commenced,  and  in  spile 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  327 

of  the  publicity  of  the  place,  in  spite  of  half  a  dozen  persons, 
who  heard  what  passed,  and  had  turned,  smiling,  to  see  what 
would  come  next,  in  spite  of  the  grave-looking  gentleman 
who  had  so  lately  been  all  vivacity  and  gaiety,  I  advanced, 
folded  the  dear  girl  to  my  heart,  and  gave  her  such  a  kiss, 
as  I  '11  take  upon  myself  to  say,  she  had  never  before  re 
ceived.  Sailors,  usually,  do  not  perform  such  things  by 
halves,  and  I  never  was  more  in  earnest  in  my  life.  Such  a 
salutation,  from  a  young  fellow  who  stood  rather  more  than 
six  feet  in  his  stockings,  had  a  pair  of  whiskers  that  had 
come  all  the  way  from  the  Pacific  with  very  little  trimming, 
and  who  possessed  a  manliness  about  him  of  which  mere 
walking  up  and  down  Broadway  would  have  robbed  a  young 
Hercules,  had  the  effect  to  cover  poor  Lucy  with  blushes  and 
confusion. 

"There — that  will  do,  Miles,"  she  said,  struggling  to  get 
free — "  a  truce,  I  pray  you.  See,  yonder  are  Grace  and  my 
father,  and  Rupert." 

There  they  all  were,  sure  enough,  the  whole  family  having 
come  out,  to  take  an  evening  walk,  in  company  with  a  cer 
tain  Mr.  Andrew  Drewett,  a  young  gentleman  who  \tas  a 
fellow-student  of  Rupert's,  and  who,  as  I  afterwards  ascer 
tained,  was  a  pretty  open  admirer  of  Rupert's  sister.  There 
was  a  marked  difference  in  the  manner  in  which  I  was  re 
ceived  by  Grace  and  Lucy.  The  first  exclaimed  "  Miles  !" 
precisely  as  the  last  had  exclaimed ;  her  colour  heightened, 
and  tears  forced  themselves  into  her  eyes,  but  she  could  not 
be  said  to  blush.  Instead  of  first  manifesting  an  eagerness 
to  meet  my  salute,  and  then  shrinking  sensitively  from  it, 
she  flung  her  delicate  arms  round  my  neck,  without  the 
slightest  reserve,  both  arms  too,  kissed  me  six  or  eight  times 
without  stopping,  and  then  began  to  sob,  as  if  her  heart  would 
break.  The  spectators,  who  saw  in  all  this  the  plain,  honest, 
natural,  undisguised  affection  of  a  sister,  had  the  good  taste 
to  walk  on,  though  I  could  see  that  their  countenances  sym 
pathised  with  so  happy  a  family  meeting.  I  had  but  a  mo 
ment  to  press  Grace  to  my  heart,  before  Mr.  Hardinge's 
voice  drew  my  attention  to  him.  The  good  old  man  forgot 
that  I  was  two  inches  taller  than  he  was  himself;  that  I 
could,  with  ease,  have  lifted  him  from  the  earth,  and  carried 
him  in  my  arms,  as  if  he  were  an  infant ;  that  I  was  bronzed 


323  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

by  a  long  voyage,  and  had  Pacific  Ocean  whiskers ;  for  he 
caressed  me  as  if  I  had  been  a  child,  kissed  me  quite  as  often 
as  Grace  had  done,  blessed  me  aloud,  and  then  gave  way  to 
his  tears,  as  freely  as  both  the  girls.  But  for  this  burst  of 
feeling  on  the  part  of  a  grey-headed  old  clergyman,  I  am 
afraid  our  scene  would  not  altogether  have  escaped  ridicule. 
As  it  was,  however,  this  saved  us.  Clergymen  were  far 
more  respected  in  America,  forty  years  ago,  than  they  are 
to-day,  thougn  i  think  they  have  still  as  much  consideration 
here  as  in  most  other  countries  ;  and  the  general  respect  felt 
for  the  class  would  have  insured  us  from  any  manifestations 
of  the  sort,  without  the  nature  and  emotion  which  came  in 
its  aid.  As  for  myself,  I  was  glad  to  take  refuge  in  Rupert's 
hearty  but  less  sentimental  shake  of  the  hand.  After  this, 
we  all  sought  a  seat,  in  a  less  public  spot,  and  were  soon 
sufficiently  composed  to  converse.  As  for  the  gentleman 
named  Drewett,  he  wailed  long  enough  to  inquire  of  Lucy 
who  I  was,  and  then  he  had  sufficient  tact  to  wish  us  all 
good  evening.  I  overheard  the  little  dialogue  which  pro- 
.luced  this  explanation. 

"  A  close  friend,  if  not  a  near  relation,  Miss  Hardinge?" 
he  observed,  inquiringly. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  answered  the  smiling,  weeping  girl,  with  the 
undisguised  truth  of  her  honest  nature  —  "  both  friend  and 
relative." 

"  May  I  presume  to  ask  the  name?" 

*  The  name,  Mr.  Drewett !  —  Why  it  is  Miles  —  dear 
Miles  —  you  surely  have  heard  us  speak  of  Miles  —  but  I 
forget;  you  never  were  at  Claw  bonny  —  is  it  not  a  most 
joyful  surprise,  dearest,  dearest  Grace !" 

Mr.  Andrew  Drewett  waited,  I  thought,  with  most  com 
mendable  patience  for  Grace  to  squeeze  Lucy's  hand,  and  to 
murrmr  her  own  felicitations,  when  he  ventured  to  add  — 

"  You  were  about  to  say  something,  Miss  Hardinge  ?" 

"  Was  I  —  I  declare  I  have  forgotten  what  it  was.  Such 
a  surprise  —  such  a  joyful,  blessed  surprise  —  I  beg  pardon, 
Mr.  Drewett  —  ah  I  I  remember  now;  I  was  about  to  say 
that  this  is  Mr.  Mhes  Wallingford,  of  Clawbonny,  the  gen« 
tleman  who  is  mv  father's  ward  —  Grace's  brother,  you 
know." 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  329 

"  And  how  related  to  yourself,  Miss  Hardinge  1"  the  gen 
tleman  continued,  a  little  perseveringly. 

"  To  me !  Oh  !  very,  very  near  —  that  is  —  I  forget  so 
much  this  evening  —  why,  not  at  all." 

It  was  at  this  ~m6ment  Mr.  Drewett  saw  fit  to  make  his 
parting  salutations  with  studied  decorum,  and  to  take  his 
leave  in  a  manner  so  polite,  that,  though  tempted,  I  could  not, 
just  at  the  moment,  stop  the  current  of  my  feelings,  to  ad 
mire.  No  one  seemed  to  miss  him,  however,  and  we  five, 
who  remained,  were  soon  seated  in  the  spot  I  have  mention 
ed,  and  as  much  abstracted  from  the  scene  around  us,  as  if 
we  had  been  on  the  rustic  bench,  under  the  old  elm,  on  the 
]awn  —  if  I  dare  use  so  fine  a  word,  for  so  unpretending  a 
p]ace  —  at  Clawbonny.  I  had  my  station  between  Mr.  Har 
dinge  and  Grace,  while  Lucy  sat  next  her  father,  and  Rupert 
next  to  my  sister.  My  friend  could  see  me,  without  difficulty, 
owing  to  his  stature,  while  I  saw  the  glistening  eyes  of  Lucy, 
riveted  on  my  face,  as  leaning  on  her  father's  knee,  she  bent 
her  graceful  form  forward,  in  absorbed  attention. 

"  We  expected  you  ;  we  have  not  been  taken  altogether 
by  surprise !"  exclaimed  good  Mr.  Hardinge,  clapping  his 
hand  on  my  shoulder,  as  if  to  say  he  could  now  begin  to 
treat  me  like  a  man.  "  1  consented  to  come  down,  just  at 
this  moment,  because  the  last  Canton  ship  that  arrived 
bi  ought  the  intelligence  that  the  Crisis  was  to  sail  in  ten 
days." 

"  And  you  may  judge  of  our  surprise,"  said  Rupert, 
"  when  we  read  the  report  in  the  papers,  '  The  Crisis,  Cap 
tain  Wallingford:  " 

"  I  supposed  my  letters  from  the  island  had  prepared  you 
for  this,"  I  observed. 

"  In  them,  you  spoke  of  Mr.  Marble,  and  I  naturally  con* 
eluded,  when  it  came  to  the  pinch,  the  man  would  resume 
the  command,  and  bring  the  ship  home.  Duty  to  the  owners 
would  be  apt  to  induce  him." 

"  He  did  not,"  I  answered,  a  little  proudly  perhaps,  for 
getting  poor  Marble's  probable  situation,  for  an  instant,  in 
my  own  vanity.  "  Mr.  Marble  understood  well,  that  if  I 
knew  nothing  else,  I  knew  how  to  take  care  of  a  ship." 

"  So  it  seems,  my  dear  boy,  indeed,  so  it  doth  seem  !"  said 
Mr.  Hardinge,  kindly.     "I  hear  from  all  quarters,  you 
28* 


330  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

conduct  commended  ;  and  the  recovery  of  the  vessel  from 
the  French,  was  really  worthy  of  Truxtun  himself." 

At  that  day,  Truxtun  was  the  great  gun  of  American 
uaval  idolatry,  and  had  as  much  local  reputation,  as  Nelson 
.limself  enjoyed  in  England.  The  allusion  was  a  sore 
assault  on  my  modesty  ;  but  I  got  along  with  it,  as  well  as 
I  could. 

"  I  endeavoured  to  do  my  duty,  sir,"  I  answered,  trying 
not  to  look  at  Lucy,  and  seem  meek ;  "  and  it  would  have 
been  a  terrible  disgrace  to  have  come  home,  and  been  obliged 
to  say  the  French  got  the  ship  from  us,  when  we  were  all 
asleep." 

"  But  you  took  a  ship  from  the  French,  in  that  manner, 
and  kept  her  too  !"  said  a  soft  voice,  every  intonation  of 
which  was  music  to  me. 

I  looked  round  and  saw  the  speaking  eyes  of  Lucy,  just 
clear  of  the  grey  coat  of  her  father,  behind  which  she  in 
stinctively  shrank,  the  instant  she  caught  my  glance. 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  we  did  something  of  that  sort,  and 
were  a  little  more  fortunate  than  our  enemies.  But,  you 
will  recollect  we  were  much  favoured  by  the  complaisance 
of  poor  Monsieur  Le  Compte,  in  leaving  us  a  schooner  to 
work  our  mischief  in." 

"  I  have  always  thought  that  part  of  your  story,  Miles,  a 
little  extraordinary,"  observed  Mr.  Hardinge ;  "  though  I 
suppose  this  Frenchman's  liberality  was,  in  some  measure, 
a  matter  of  necessity,  out  there,  in  the  middle  of  the 
Pacific." 

"  I  hardly  think  you  do  Captain  Le  Compte  justice,  sir. 
He  was  a  chivalrous  fellow,  and  every  way  a  gallant  sea 
man.  It  is  possible,  he  was  rather  more  in  a  hurry  than 
he  might  have  been,  but  for  his  passengers  —  that  is  all  —  at 
least,  I  have  always  suspected  that  the  wish  to  have  Miss 
Merton  all  to  himself,  induced  him  to  get  rid  of  us  as  soon 
as  possible.  He  evidently  admired  her,  and  could  have 
been  jealous  of  a  dead-eye." 

"  Miss  Merton  !"  exclaimed  Grace.  "  Jealous  !" 

"  Miss  Merton !"  put  in  Rupert,  leaning  forward,  curiously. 

"  Miss  Merton  !  And  jealous  of  dead-eyes,  and  wishing  to 
get  rid  of  us  !"  said  Mr.  Hardinge,  smiling.  "  Pray  who  is 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  331 

Miss  Merton  ?  and  who  are  the  us  1  and  what  are  the  dead- 
eyes?" 

Lucy  was  silent. 

"  Why,  sir,  I  thought  [  wrote  you  all  about  the  Mertons. 
How  we  met  them  in  London,  and  then  found  them  prisoners 
to  Monsieur  Le  Compte ;  and  that  I  intended  to  carry  them 
to  Canton,  in  the  Crisis  ?" 

"  You  told  us  some  of  this,  certainly ;  but,  though  you 
may  have  written  '  all  about'  a  Major  Merton,  you  forgot 
to  tell  us  «  about  air  the  Mertons.  This  is  the  first  syllable 
I  have  ever  had  about  a  Miss  Merton.  How  is  it,  girls  — 
did  Miles  speak  of  any  one  but  the  Major,  in  his  letter  ?" 

"  Not  a  syllable  to  me,  sir,  of  any  young  lady,  I  can 
assure  you,"  replied  Grace,  laughing.  "  How  was  it  to 
you,  Lucy  ?" 

"  Of  course  he  would  not  tell  me  that  which  he  thought 
fit  to  conceal  from  his  own  sister,"  said  Lucy,  in  a  low 
voice. 

"  It  is  odd  I  should  have  forgotten  to  mention  her,"  I 
cried,  endeavouring  to  laugh  it  off.  "  Young  men  do  not 
often  forget  to  write  about  young  ladies." 

"  This  Miss  Merton  is  young,  then,  brother  ?" 

"  About  your  own  age,  Grace." 

"  And  handsome — and  agreeable — and  accomplished  7" 

"  Something  like  yourself,  my  dear." 

"<  But  handsome,  I  take  it  for  granted,  Miles,"  observed 
Mr.  Hardinge,  "  by  the  manner  in  which  you  have  omitted 
to  speak  of  her  charms,  in  your  letters  !" 

"  Why  sir,  I  think  most  persons  —  that  is  the  world  in 
general — I  mean  such  as  are  not  over-fastidious,  would  con 
sider  Miss  Merton  particularly  handsome — agreeable  in  per 
son  and  features,  I  would  be  understood  to  say." 

"  Oh !  you  are  sufficiently  explicit ;  everybody  can 
understand  you,"  added  my  laughing  guardian,  who  had  no 
more  thought  of  getting  me  married  to  his  own  daughter, 
than  to  a  German  princess  of  a  hundred  and  forty-five  quar- 
terings,  if  there  are  any  such  things ;  "  some  other  time  we 
will  have  the  particulars  of  her  eyes,  hair,  teeth,  &c.,  &c." 

"  Oh  !  sir,  you  may  save  me  the  trouble,  by  looking  at 
her  yourself,  to-morrow,  since  she  and  her  father  are  both 
here." 


332  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  Here  /"  exclaimed  all  four  in  a  breath  ;  Lucy's  extreme 
surprise  extorting  the  monosyllable  from  her  reserve,  even  a 
little;  louder  than  from  the  rest. 

"  Certainly,  here  ;  father,  daughter,  and  servants;  I  dare 
say  I  omitted  to  speak  of  the  servants  in  my  letters,  too ; 
but  a  poor  fellow  who  has  a  great  deal  to  do,  cannot  think 
of  everything  in  a  minute.  Major  Merton  has  a  touch  of 
the  liver  complaint ;  and  it  would  not  do  to  leave  him  in  a 
warm  climate.  So,  no  other  chance  offering,  he  is  pro 
ceeding  to  England,  by  the  way  of  America." 

"  And  how  long  had  you  these  people  on  board  your  ship, 
Miles?"  Grace  asked,  a  little  gravely. 

"Actually  on  board,  with  myself,  about  nine  months,  I 
should  think  ;  but  including  the  time  in  London,  at  Canton, 
and  on  the  island,  I  should  call  our  acquaintance  one  of 
rather  more  than  a  year's  standing." 

"  Long  enough,  certainly,  to  make  a  young  lady  suffi 
ciently  obvious  to  a  young  gentleman's  memory,  ribt  to  be 
forgotten  in  his  letters." 

After  this  pointed  speech,  there  was  a  silence,  which  Mr. 
Hardinge  broke  by  some  questions  about  the  passage  home 
from  Canton.  As  it  was  getting  cool  op  the  Battery,  how 
ever,  we  all  moved  away,  proceeding  to  Mrs.  Bradfort's. 
This  lady,  as  I  afterwards  discovered,  was  much  attached 
to  Lucy,  and  had  insisted  on  giving  her  these  opportunities 
of  seeing  the  world.  She  was  quite  at  her  ease  in  her 
circumstances,  and  belonged  to  a  circle  a  good  deal  superior 
to  that  into  which  Grace  and  myself  could  have  claimed 
admission,  in  right  of  our  own  social  position.  Lucy  had 
been  well  received  as  her  relative,  and  as  a  clergyman's 
daughter ;  and  Grace  on  her  own  account,  as  I  afterwards 
.earned.  It  would  be  attaching  too  much  credit  to  Claw- 
bonny,  to  say  that  either  of  the  girls  had  not  improved  by 
this  association  ;  though  it  was  scarcely  possible  to  make 
Grace  more  feminine  and  lady-like  than  she  had  been  made 
by  nature.  The  effect  on  Lucy  was  simply  to  put  a  little 
reserve  on  her  native  frankness,  and  sturdy  honesty; 
though  candour  compels  me  to  say,  that  mingling  with  the 
world,  and,  especially  the  world  to  which  they  had  been 
introduced  by  Mrs.  Bradfort,  had  certainly  increased  the 
native  charm  of  manner  that  each  possessed.  I  began  to 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  333 

rhink  Emily  Merton,  so  far  from  possessing  any  advantage 
over  the  two  girls,  might  now  improve  a  little  herself,  by 
associating  with  them. 

At  the  house.  I  had  to  tell  my  whole  story,  and  to  answer 
a  multitude  of  questions.  Not  a  syllable  more  was  said 
about  Miss  Merton  ;  and  even  Lucy  had  smiles  to  bestow 
and  remarks  to  make,  as  before.  When  we  got  to  the 
lights,  where  the  girls  could  remove  their  shawls  and  hats, 
I  made  each  of  them  stand  before  me,  in  order  to  ascertain 
how  much  time  had  altered  them.  Grace  was  now  nine 
teen  ;  and  Lucy  was  only  six  months  her  junior.  The 
greatest  change  was  in  the  latter.  Her  form  had  ripened 
into  something  as  near  as  possible  to  girlish  perfection.  In 
this  respect  she  had  the  advantage  of  Grace,  who  was  a 
little  too  slight  and  delicate ;  whereas,  Lucy,  without  any 
of  the  heaviness  that  so  often  accompanies  a  truly  rounded 
person,  and  which  was  perhaps  a  slight  defect  in  Emily 
Merlon's  figure,  was  without  an  angle  of  any  sort,  in  her 
entire  outline.  Grace,  always  so  handsome,  and  so  intel- 
'ectual  in  the  expression  of  her  countenance,  had  improved 
ess  in  this  respect,  than  Lucy,  whose  eyes  had  obtained  a 
tenderness  and  feeling  that  rendered  them,  to  me,  even  more 
attractive  than  those  of  my  own  dear  sister.  In  a  word, 
any  man  might  have  been  proud,  at  finding  two  such  ad 
mirable  creatures  interested  in  him,  as  interested,  every 
look,  smile,  syllable,  and  gesture  of  these  dear  girls,  denoted 
they  were  in  me. 

All  this  time,  Neb  had  been  overlooked.  He  had  fol 
lowed  us  to  the  house,  however,  and  was  already  engaged 
in  a  dark-coloured  flirtation  with  a  certain  Miss  Chloe  Claw- 
bonny,  his  own  second-cousin,  in  the  kitchen ;  a  lady  who 
had  attracted  a  portion  of  his  admiration,  before  we  sailed, 
and  who  had  accompanied  her  young  mistress  to  town.  As 
soon  as  it  was  ascertained  the  fellow  was  below,  Lucy,  who 
was  quite  at  home  in  her  kinswoman's  house,  insisted  on  his 
jeing  introduced.  1  saw  by  the  indulgent  smile  of  Mrs. 
Bradfort,  that  Lucy  was  not  exceeding  her  conceded  privi 
leges,  and  Neb  was  ordered  up,  forthwith.  Never  was 
here  a  happier  fellow  than  this  «  nigger'  appeared  to  be, 
on  that  occasion.  He  kept  rolling  his  tarpaulin  between  his 
fingers,  shifting  his  weight  from  leg  to  leg,  an^i  otherwise 


334  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

betraying  the  confusion  of  one  questioned  by  his  betters ; 
for,  in  that  day,  a  negro  was  ready  enough  to  allow  he  had 
his  betters,  and  did  not  feel  he  was  injured  in  so  doing.  At 
the  present  time,  I  am  well  aware  that  the  word  is  proscribed 
even  in  the  State's  Prisons  ;  everybody  being  just  as  good 
as  everybody  else ;  though  some  have  the  misfortune  to  be 
sentenced  to  hard  labour,  while  others  are  permitted  to  go 
at  large.  As  a  matter  of  course,  the  selections  made 
through  the  ballot-boxes,  only  go  to  prove  that  "  one  man 
is  as  good  as  another." 

Our  party  did  not  separate  until  quite  late.  Suppers  were 
eaten  in  1802  ;  and  I  was  invited  to  sit  down  with  the  rest 
of  the  family,  and  a  gay  set  we  were.  It  was  then  the 
fashion  to  drink  toasts;  gentlemen  giving  ladies,  and  ladies 
gentlemen.  The  usage  was  singular,  but  very  general  ; 
more  especially  in  the  better  sort  of  houses.  We  men  drank 
our  wine,  as  a  matter  of  course;  while  the  ladies  sipped 
theirs,  in  that  pretty  manner  in  which  females  moisten  their 
lips,  on  such  occasions.  After  a  time,  Mrs.  Bradfort,  who 
was  very  particular  in  the  observance  of  forms,  gaily  called 
on  Mr.  Hardinge  for  his  toast. 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Bradfort,"  said  the  divine,  good-humour- 
edly,  "  if  it  were  not  in  your  own  house,  and  contrary  to 
all  rule  to  give  a  person  who  is  present,  I  certainly  should 
drink  to  yourself.  Bless  me,  bless  me,  whom  shall  I  give? 
I  suppose  I  shall  not  be  permitted  to  give  our  new  Bishop, 
Dr.  Moore  ?" 

The  cry  of  "  No  Bishop !"  was  even  more  unanimous 
than  it  is  at  this  moment,  among  those  who,  having  all  their 
lives  dissented  from  episcopal  authority,  fancy  it  an  evidence 
of  an  increasing  influence  to  join  in  a  clamour  made  by  their 
own  voices ;  and  this,  moreover,  on  a  subject  that  not  one 
in  a  hundred  among  them  has  given  himself  the  trouble 
even  to  skim.  Our  opposition — in  which  Mrs.  Bradfort 
joined,  by  the  way — was  of  a  very  different  nature,  how 
ever;  proceeding  from  a  desire  to  learn  what  lady  Mr.  Har- 
dinge  could  possibly  select,  at  such  a  moment.  I  never  saw 
the  old  gentleman  so  confused  before.  He  laughed,  tried  to 
dodge  the  appeal,  fidgeted,  and  at  last  fairly  blushed.  All 
this  proceeded,  not  from  any  preference  for  any  particular 
individual  of  the  sex,  but  from  natural  diffidence,  the  perfect 


AfrtOAT     A  K  D     ASHORE.  335 

simplicity  and  nature  of  his  character,  which  caused  him  to 
be  abashed  at  even  appearing  to  select  a  female  for  a  toast. 
It  was  a  beautiful  picture  of  masculine  truth  and  purity  ! 
Still,  we  would  not  be  put  off;  and  the  old  gentleman,  com 
posing  his  countenance  five  or  six  times  in  vain  efforts  to 
reflect,  then  looking  as  grave  as  if  about  to  proceed  to  prayer, 
raised  his  glass,  and  said — 

"  Peggy  Perott !" 

A  general  laugh  succeeded  this  announcement,  Peggy 
Perott  being  an  old  maid  who  went  about  tending  the  sick 
for  hire,  in  the  vicinity  of  Clawbonny,  and  known  to  us  all 
as  the  ugliest  woman  in  the  county. 

"  Why  do  you  first  insist  on  my  giving  a  toast,  and  then 
laugh  at  it  when  given  ?"  cried  Mr.  Hardinge,  half-amused, 
half-serious  in  his  expostulations.  "  Peggy  is  an  excellent 
woman,  and  one  of  the  most  useful  I  know." 

"  I  wonder,  my  dear  sir,  you  did  not  think  of  adding  a 
sentiment !"  cried  I,  a  little  pertly. 

"  And  if  I  had,  it  would  have  been  such  a  one  as  no  wo 
man  need  be  ashamed  to  hear  attached  to  her  name.  But 
enough  of  this ;  I  have  given  Peggy  Perott,  and  you  are 
bound  to  drink  her" — that  we  had  done  already  ;  "and  now, 
cousin,  as  I  have  passed  through  the  fiery  furnace " 

"Unscathed?"  demanded  Lucy,  laughing  ready  to  kill 
herself. 

"  Yes,  unscathed,  miss:  and  now,  cousin,  I  ask  of  you  to 
honour  us  with  a  toast." 

Mrs.  Bradfort  had  been  a  widow  many  years,  and  was 
fortified  with  the  panoply  of  her  state.  Accustomed  to  such 
appeals,  which,  when  she  was  young  and  handsome,  had 
been  of  much  more  frequent  occurrence  than  of  late,  she 
held  her  glass  for  the  wine  with  perfect  self-possession,  and 
gave  her  toast  with  the  conscious  dignity  of  one  who  had 
often  been  solicited  in  vain  "  to  change  her  condition." 

"  I  will  give  you,"  she  said,  raising  her  person  and  her 
voice,  as  if  to  invite  scrutiny,  "  my  dear  old  friend,  good 
Dr.  Wilson." 

It  was  incumbent  on  a  single  person  to  give  another  who 
was  also  single ;  and  the  widow  had  been  true  to  the  usage  ; 
but  "  good  Dr.  Wilson"  was  a  half-superannuated  clergy- 


336  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE* 

man,  whom  no  one  could  suspect  of  inspiring  anything  be 
yond  friendship. 

"  Dear  me — dear  me  !"  cried  Mr.  Hardinge,  earnestly  ; 
"  how  much  more  thoughtful,  Mrs.  Bradfort,  you  are  than 
myself!  Had  I  thought  a  moment,  /  might  have  given  the 
Doctor;  for  I  studied  with  him,  and  honour  him  vastly." 

This  touch  of  simplicity  produced  another  laugh — how 
easily  we  all  laughed  that  night ! — and  it  caused  a  little 
more  confusion  in  the  excellent  divine.  Mrs.  Bradfort  then 
called  on  me,  as  was  her  right ;  but  I  begged  that  Rupert 
might  precede  me,  he  knowing  more  persons,  and  being  now 
a  sort  of  man  of  the  world. 

'*  I  will  give  the  charming  Miss  Winthrop,"  said  Rupert, 
without  a  moment's  hesitation,  tossing  off  his  glass  with  an 
air  that  said,  "  how  do  you  like  that  ?" 

As  Winthrop  was  a  highly  respectable  name,  it  denoted 
the  set  in  which  Rupert  moved  ;  and  as  for  the  young  lady 
I  dare  say  she  merited  his  eulogium,  though  I  never  hap 
pened  to  see  her.  It  was  something,  however,  in  1802,  for 
a  youngster  to  dare  to  toast  a  Winlhrop,  or  a  Morris,  or  a 
Livingston,  or  a  de  Lancey,  or  a  Stuyvesant,  or  a  Beekman, 
or  a  Van  Renssellaer,  or  a  Schuyler,  or  a  Rutherford,  or  a 
Bayard,  or  a  Watts,  or  a  Van  Cortlandt,  or  a  Verplanck,  or 
a  Jones,  or  a  Walton,  or  any  of  that  set.  They,  and  twenty 
similar  families,  composed  the  remnant  of  the  colonial  aris 
tocracy,  and  still  made  head,  within  the  limits  of  Manhattan, 
against  the  inroads  of  the  Van — something  elses.  Alas ! 
alas !  how  changed  is  all  this,  though  I  am  obliged  to  be 
lieve  it  is  all  for  the  best. 

"  Do  you  know  Miss  Winthrop  ?"  I  asked  of  Grace,  in  a 
whisper. 

"  Not  at  all ;  I  am  not  much  in  that  set,"  she  answered, 
quietly.  "  Rupert  and  Lucy  have  been  noticed  by  many 
persons  whom 'I  do  not  know." 

This  was  the  first  intimation  I  got,  that  my  sister  did  not 
possess  all  the  advantages  in  society  that  were  enjoyed  by 
her  friend.  As  is  always  the  case  where  it  is  believed  to  be 
our  loss,  I  felt  indignant  at  first ;  had  it  been  the  reverse,  I 
dare  say  I  should  have  fancied  it  all  very  right.  Conse 
quences  grew  out  of  these  distinctions  which  I  could  not 
then  foresee,  but  which  will  be  related  in  their  place.  Rupert 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  337 

now  called  on  Grace  for  her  toast,  a  lady  commonly  suc 
ceeding  a  gentleman.  My  sister  did  not  seem  in  the  least 
disconcerted ;  but,  after  a  moment's  hesitation,  she  said — 

"  Mr.  Edward  Marston." 

This  was  a  strange  name  to  me,  but  I  afterwards  asce/ 
tained  it  belonged  to  a  respectable  young  man  who  visited 
Mrs.  Bradfort's,  and  who  stood  very  well  with  all  his  ac 
quaintances.  I  looked  at  Rupert,  to  note  the  effect;  but 
Rupert  was  as  calm  as  Grace  herself  had  been,  when  he 
gave  Miss  Winthrop. 

"  I  believe  I  have  no  one  to  call  upon  but  you,  Miles," 
said  Grace,  smiling. 

"  Me !  Why,  you  all  know  I  am  not  acquainted  with  a 
soul.  Our  Ulster  county  girls  have  almost  all  gone  out 
of  my  recollection ;  besides,  no  one  would  know  them  here, 
should  I  mention  twenty." 

"  You  strangely  forget,  brother,  that  most  of  us  are  Ulster 
county  folk.  Try  if  you  can  recall  no  young  lady " 

"  Oh  !  easily  enough,  for  that  matter ;  a  young  fellow  can 
hardly  have  lived  nine  months  in  the  same  cabin  with  Emily, 
and  not  think  of  her,  when  hard  pushed ;  I  will  give  you, 
Miss  Emily  Merton." 

The  toast  was  drunk,  and  I  thought  Mr.  Hardinge  looked 
thoughtful,  like  one  who  had  a  guardian's  cares,  and  that 
Grace  was  even  grave.  I  did  not  dare  look  at  Lucy,  though 
I  could  have  toasted  her  all  night,  had  it  been  in  rule  to 
drink  a  person  who  was  present.  We  began  to  chat  again, 
and  I  had  answered  some  eight  or  ten  questions,  when  Mrs. 
Bradfort,  much  too  precise  to  make  any  omissions,  reminded 
us  that  we  had  not  yet  been  honoured  with  Miss  Lucy  Har- 
dinge's  toast.  Lucy  had  enjoyed  plenty  of  time  to  reflect  ; 
and  she  bowed,  paused  a  moment  as  if  to  summon  resolu 
tion,  and  then  mentioned — 

"  Mr.  Andrew  Drewett." 

So,  then,  Lucy  Hardinge  toasted  this  Mr.  Drewett — the 
very  youth  with  whom  she  had  been  in  such  animated  dis 
course,  when  I  first  met  the  party  !  Had  I  been  more 
familiar  with  the  world,  I  should  have  thought  nothing  of  a 
thing  that  was  so  common ;  or,  did  I  understand  human 
nature  better,  I  might  have  known  that  no  sensitive  and 
delicate  woman  would  betray  a  secret  that  was  dear  to  her, 
29 


336  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

under  so  idle  a  form.  But  I  was  young,  and  ready  myself 
to  toast  the  girl  I  preferred  before  the  universe ;  and  I  could 
not  make  suitable  allowances  for  difference  of  sex  and  temp 
erament.  Lucy's  toast  made  me  very  uncomfortable  for 
the  rest  of  the  evening ;  and  I  was  not  sorry  when  Rupert 
reminded  me  that  it  was  eleven,  and  that  he  would  go  with 
me  to  a  tavern,  in  order  to  look  for  a  room. 

The  next  morning  was  passed  in  transacting  the  business 
of  the  ship.  I  found  myself  much  noticed  among  the  mer 
chants  and  ship-masters ;  and  one  of  my  owners  took  me 
on  'Change,  that  I  might  see  and  be  seen.  As  the  papers 
had  spoken  of  the  recapture  of  the  Crisis,  on  the  arrival  of 
the  Pretty  Poll,  and  had  now  each  an  article  on  the  arrival 
of  the  ship,  I  had  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  my  recep 
tion.  There  are  men  so  strong  in  principle,  as  well  as  intel 
lect,  I  do  suppose,  that  they  can  be  content  with  the  appro 
bation  of  their  own  consciences,  and  who  can  smile  at  the 
praises  or  censure  of  the  world,  alike ;  but  I  confess  to  a 
strong  sympathy  with  the  commendation  of  my  fellow-crea 
tures,  and  as  strong  a  distaste  for  their  disapprobation.  I 
know  this  is  not  the  way  to  make  a  very  great  man ;  for  he 
who  cannot  judge,  feel  and  act  for  himself,  will  always  be 
in  danger  of  making  undue  sacrifices  to  the  wishes  of  others  ; 
but  you  can  have  no  more  of  a  cat  than  the  skin ;  and  I  was 
sufficiently  proud  at  finding  myself  a  miniature  hero,  about 
the  lower  end  of  Wall-street,  and  in  the  columns  of  the 
newspapers.  As  for  these  last,  no  one  can  complain  of 
their  zeal  in  extolling  everything  national.  To  believe  them, 
the  country  never  was  wrong,  or  defeated,  or  in  a  condition 
to  be  defeated,  except  when  a  political  opponent  could  bo 
made  to  suffer  by  an  opposite  theory ;  and  then  nothing  was 
ever  right.  As  to  fame,  I  have  since  discovered  they  con 
sider  that  of  each  individual  to  be  public  property,  in  which 
each  American  has  a  part  and  parcel — the  editors,  them 
selves,  more  than  the  man  who  has  thrown  the  article  into 
the  common  lot.  But  I  was  young  in  1802,  and  even  q 
paragraph  in  my  praise  in  a  newspaper  had  a  certain  charm 
for  me,  that  I  will  not  deny.  Then  1  had  done  well,  as  even 
my  enemies,  if  I  had  any  must  have  admitted. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  c$39 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

**  Ships  are  but  boards,  sailors  but  men :  there  be  land-rats,  and 
water-rats,  water-thieves,  and  land-thieves ;  I  mean  pirates ;  and  then, 
there  is  the  peril  of  waters,  winds  and  rocks :  the  man  is,  notwith- 
etanding,  sufficient ; — three  thousand  ducats ; — I  think  I  may  take 
his  bond."— Shylock. 

I  SAW  Grace,  and  Lucy,  and  Rupert,  and  good  Mr.  Har- 
dinge,  every  day ;  but  I  could  not  find  time  to  call  on  the 
Mertons,  until  near  the  close  of  a  week.  I  then  paid  them 
a  visit,  and  found  them  glad  to  see  me,  but  not  at  all  in 
want  of  my  attentions  to  make  them  comfortable.  The 
Major  had  exhibited  his  claims  to  the  British  consul^  who 
happened  to  be  a  native  Manhattanese,  and  was  well-con 
nected,  a  circumstance  that  then  gave  him  an  influence  in 
society,  that  his  commission  alone  would  not  have  conferred. 
Colonel  Barclay,  for  so  was  this  gentleman  called,  had  taken 
the  Mertons  by  the  hand,  as  a  matter  of  course ;  and  his 
example  being  followed  by  others,  I  found  that  they  were 
already  in  the  best  circle  of  the  place.  Emily  mentioned  to 
me  the  names  of  several  of  those  with  whom  she  had  ex 
changed  visits ;  and  I  knew  at  once,  through  Lucy's  and 
Grace's  conversation,  and  from  my  own  general  knowledge 
of  the  traditions  of  the  colony  and  state,  that  they  were 
among  the  leading  people  of  the  land,  socially  if  not  politi 
cally  ;  a  class  altogether  above  any  with  whom  I  had  my 
self  ever  associated.  Now,  I  knew  that  the  master  of  a 
merchantman,  whatever  might  be  his  standing  with  his 
owner,  or  consignee,  or  the  credit  he  had  gained  among  his 
fellows,  was  not  likely  to  get  admission  into  this  set ;  and 
there  was  the  comfortable  prospect  before  me,  of  having  my 
own  sister  and  the  two  other  girls  I  admired  most  and  loved 
best  in  the  world — next  to  Grace,  of  course — visiting  round 
in  houses,  of  which  the  doors  were  shut  against  myself. 
This  is  always  unpleasant,  but  in  my  case  it  turned  out  to 
be  more. 

When  I  told  Emily  that  Grace  and  Lucy  were  in  town, 
and  intended  coming  to  see  her  that  very  morning,  I  thought 


340  AFLOAT     AND     ASHOKB. 

she  manifested  less  curiosity  than  would  have  been  the  case 
a  month  before. 

"  Is  Miss  Hardinge  a  relative  of  Mr.  Rupert  Hardinge, 
the  gentleman  to  whom  I  was  introduced  at  dinner,  yester 
day,"  she  demanded,  after  expressing  the  pleasure  it  would 
give  her  to  see  the  ladies. 

I  knew  that  Rupert  had  dined  out  the  day  before,  and, 
there  being  no  one  else  of  the  same  name,  I  answered  in 
the  affirmative. 

"  He  is  the  son  of  a  respectable  clergyman,  and  of  very 
good  connections,  I  hear." 

"  The  Hardinges  are  so  considered  among  us  ;  both  Ru 
pert's  father  and  grandfather  were  clergymen,  and  his  great 
grandfather  was  a  seaman — I  trust  you  will  think  none  the 
worse  of  him,  for  that." 

"  A  sailor !  I  had  supposed,  from  what  some  of  those 
present  said — that  is,  I  did  not  know  it." 

"  Perhaps  they  told  you  that  his  great-grandfather  was  a 
British  officer  ?" 

Emily  coloured,  and  then  she  laughed  faintly  ;  admitting, 
however,  that  I  had  guessed  right. 

"  Well,  all  this  was  true,"  I  added,  "  though  he  was  a 
sailor.  Old  Captain  Hardinge — or  Commodore  Hardinge, 
as  he  used  to  be  called,  for  he  once  commanded  a  squadron 
— was  in  the  English  navy." 

"  Oh  !  that  sort  of  a  sailor !" — cried  Emily,  quickly — "  I 
did  not  know  that  it  was  usual  to  call  gentlemen  in  the  navy, 
seamen." 

"  They  would  make  a  poor  figure  if  they  were  not,  Miss 
Merton — you  might  as  well  say  that  a  judge  is  no  lawyer." 

This  was  enough,  however,  to  satisfy  me  that  Miss  Mer 
ton  no  longer  considered  the  master  of  the  Crisis  the  first 
man  in  the  world. 

A  ring  announced  the  arrival  of  the  two  girls.  They 
were  shown  up,  and  I  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
these  three  charming  young  women  together.  Emily  re 
ceived  her  two  guests  very  courteously,  and  was  frank  — 
nay  warm — in  the  expression  of  her  gratitude  for  all  that 
I  had  done  for  herself  and  her  father.  She  even  went  back 
so  far  as  to  sneak  of  the  occurrence  in  the  Park,  at  London, 
and  was  gracious  enough  to  declare  that  she  and  her  parents 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  341 

owed  their  lives  to  my  interference.  All  this  gave  her  list 
eners  great  pleasure,  for  I  believe  neither  ever  tired  of  hear 
ing  my  praises.  After  this  opening,  the  conversation  turned 
on  New  York,  its  gaieties,  and  the  different  persons  known 
to  them  mutually.  I  saw  that  the  two  girls  were  struck 
with  the  set  Miss  Merton  was  in,  which  was  a  shade  supe 
rior  even  to  that  of  Mrs.  Bradfort's,  though  the  fusion  which 
usually  accompanies  that  sort  of  thing,  brought  portions  of 
each  circle  within  the  knowledge  of  the  other.  As  the  per 
sons  named  were  utter  strangers  to  me,  I  had  nothing  to 
say,  and  sat  listening  in  silence.  The  opportunity  was  im 
proved  by  comparing  the  girls  with  each  other. 

In  delicacy  of  appearance,  Grace  and  Lucy  each  had  the 
advantage  of  the  English  beauty.  Their  hands  and  feet 
were  smaller,  their  waists  finer,  and  their  tournures,  gene 
rally,  I  thought  the  most  pleasing.  Emily  had  the  advantage 
in  complexion,  though  her  colour  had  less  fineness  and  deli 
cacy.  Perhaps  her  teeth  were  the  most  brilliant;  though 
Grace  and  Lucy,  particularly  the  latter,  had  very  fine  teeth. 
The  English  girl's  shoulders  and  bust,  generally,  would 
have  been  more  admired  than  those  of  most  American — par 
ticularly  than  most  New  York — girls  ;  but  it  was  not  possi 
ble  to  surpass  those  of  Lucy.  As  a  whole,  Emily's  coun 
tenance  had  the  most  spirit,  Lucy's  the  most  finesse  and 
feeling.  I  make  no  comparison  with  the  expression  of 
Grace's  countenance,  which  was  altogether  too  remarkable 
for  its  intellectual  character,  to  be  included  in  anything  like 
a  national  classification.  I  remember  I  thought,  as  they 
sat  there  in  a  row  conversing  frankly  and  cheerfully  to 
gether,  Lucy  the  handsomest,  in  her  pretty  neat  morning- 
dress  ;  while  I  had  my  doubts  whether  Emily  would  not  have 
extorted  the  most  applause  in  a  ball-room.  This  distinction 
is  mentioned,  because  I  believe  it  national. 

The  visit  lasted  an  hour ;  for  I  had  expressed  a  wish  to 
all  parties  that  they  would  become  acquainted,  and  the  girls 
seemed  mutually  pleased.  As  they  chatted,  I  listened  to 
the  tones  of  their  voices,  and  fancied,  on  the  whole,  that 
Emily  had  slightly  the  advantage  in  intonation  and  accent ; 
though  it  was  scarcely  perceptible,  and  it  was  an  advantage 
that  was  attended  by  a  slight  sacrifice  of  the  charm  of 
natural  utterance.  She  was  a  little  more  artificial  in  this 
29* 


342  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

respect  than  her  companions,  and  insomuch  less  pleasing 
though,  had  the  comparison  been  made  with  the  Manhattan 
style  of  the  present  day,  the  odds  would  have  been  im 
mensely  in  her  favour.  In  1802,  however,  some  attention 
was  still  paid  to  the  utterance,  tones  of  voice,  and  manner 
of  speaking  of  young  ladies.  The  want  of  it  all,  just  now, 
is  the  besetting  vice  of  the  whole  of  our  later  instruction  of 
the  sex ;  it  being  almost  as  rare  a  thing  now-a-days,  to  find 
a  young  American  girl  who  speaks  her  own  language  grace 
fully,  as  it  is  to  find  one  who  is  not  of  pleasing  person. 

When  the  young  ladies  parted,  it  was  with  an  understand 
ing  that  they  were  soon  to  meet  again.  I  shook  hands  with 
Emily,  English  fashion,  and  took  my  leave  at  the  same 
time. 

"  Well,  Miles,"  said  Grace,  as  soon  as  we  were  in  the 
street,  "  you  have  certainly  been  of  service  to  a  very 
charming  young  woman — I  like  her,  excessively." 

"  And  you,  Lucy  —  I  hope  you  agree  with  Grace,  in 
thinking  my  friend,  Emily  Merton,  a  charming  young  wo 
man." 

Lucy  did  not  speak  as  frankly,  or  as  decidedly  as  Grace, 
so  far  as  manner  was  concerned ;  though  she  coincided  in 
words. 

"  I  am  of  the  same  opinion,"  she  said,  in  a  tone  that  was 
far  less  cheerful  than  her  usually  very  cheerful  manner. 
"  She  is  one  of  the  loveliest  creatures  I  ever  saw — and  it  is 
no  wonder " 

"  What  is  no  wonder,  dear  ?"  asked  Grace,  observing 
that  her  friend  hesitated  to  proceed. 

"  Oh  !  I  was  about  to  say  something  silly,  and  had  better 
not  finish  the  speech.  But,  what  a  finished  manner  Misa 
.Merton  possesses ; — do  you  not  think  so,  Grace  ?" 

"  I  wish  she  had  a  little  less  of  it,  dear  ;  that  is  precisely 
what  I  should  find  fault  with  in  her  deportment.  It  is  man 
ner  ;  and,  though  we  all  must  have  some,  it  strikes  me  it 
ought  not  to  be  seen.  I  think  all  the  Europeans  we  saw  in 
town,  last  winter,  Lucy,  had  more  or  less  of  this  manner." 

"  I  dare  say  it  would  seem  so  to  us  ;  notwithstanding,  it 
may  be  very  agreeable  to  those  who  are  used  to  it — a  thing 
to  miss,  when  one  gets  much  accustomed  to  it." 

As  Lucy  made  this  remark,  I  detected  a  furtive  and  timid 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  343 

glance  at  myself.  I  was  mystified  at  the  time,  and  was 
actually  so  silly  as  to  think  the  dear  girl  was  talking  at  me, 
and  to  feel  a  little  resentment.  I  fancied  she  wished  to  say, 
«*  There,  Master  Miles,  you  have  been  in  London,  and  on  a 
desert  island  in  the  South  Seas  —  the  very  extremes  of 
human  habits — and  have  got  to  be  so  sophisticated,  so  very 
un-Clawbonnyish,  as  to  feel  the  necessity  of  a  manner,  in 
the  young  ladies  with  whom  you  associate."  The  notion 
nettled  me  to  a  degree  that  induced  me  to  pretend  duty,  and 
to  hurry  down  to  the  ship.  Whom  should  I  meet,  in  Rector 
Street,  but  Mr.  Hardinge,  who  had  been  across  to  the  Hudson 
in  search  of  me. 

"  Come  hither,  Miles,"  said  the  excellent  old  man,  "  I 
wish  to  converse  with  you  seriously." 

As  Lucy  was  uppermost  in  my  thoughts  at  the  moment, 
I  said  to  myself — "  What  can  the  dear  old  gentleman  have 
to  say,  now  V ' 

"  I  hear  from  all  quarters  the  best  accounts  of  you,  my 
dear  boy,"  Mr.  Hardinge  continued,  "  and  I  am  told  you 
make  a  very  superior  seaman.  It  is  a  feather  in  your  cap, 
indeed,  to  have  commanded  an  Indiaman  a  twelve-month 
before  you  are  of  age.  I  have  been  conversing  with  my  old 
friend  John  Murray,  of  the  house  of  John  Murray  and  Sons, 
one  of  the  very  best  merchants  in  America,  and  he  says 
*  push  the  boy  ahead,  when  you  find  the  right  stuff  in  him. 
Get  him  a  ship  of  his  own,  and  that  will  put  him  on  the  true 
track.  Teach  him  early  to  have  an  eye  to  his  own  inter 
ests,  and  it  will  make  a  man  of  him,  at  once.'  I  have  thought 
the  matter  over,  have  had  a  vessel  in  my  eye,  for  the  last 
month,  and  will  purchase  her  at  once,  if  you  like  the  plan." 

"  But,  have  I  money  enough  for  such  a  thing,  my  dear 
sir — after  having  sailed  in  the  John,  and  the  Tigris,  and  the 
Crisis,  I  should  not  like  to  take  up  with  any  of  your  B's, 
No.  2." 

"  You  have  forgotten  to  mention  the  «  Pretty  Poll,'  Miles," 
said  the  divine,  smiling.  "  Be  under  no  fear,  however,  for 
your  dignity ;  the  vessel  I  have  in  treaty,  is  all  you  could 
wish,  they  tell  me,  having  made  but  one  voyage,  and  is  sold 
on  account  of  the  death  of  her  owner.  As  for  money,  you 
will  remember  I  have  thirteen  thousand  dollars  of  your  in 
come  invested  in  stocks,  and  stocks  that  cost  but  ten.  The 


344  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

peace  has  brought  everything  up,  and  you  are  making 
money,  right  and  left.  How  have  your  own  pay  and  pri 
vate  venture  turned  out  ?" 

"  Perfectly  well,  sir.  I  am  near  three  thousand  dollars 
in  pocket,  and  shall  have  no  need  to  call  on  you,  for  my 
personal  wants.  Then  I  have  my  prize-money  to  touch. 
Even  Neb,  wages  and  prize-money,  brings  me  nine  hun 
dred  dollars.  With  your  permission,  sir,  I  should  like  to 
give  the  fellow  his  freedom." 

"  Wait  till  you  are  of  age,  Miles,  and  then  you  can  do 
as  you  please.  I  hold  four  thousand  dollars  of  your  invest 
ed  money,  which  has  been  paid  in,  and  I  have  placed  it  in 
stocks.  Altogether,  I  find  we  can  muster,  in  solid  cash, 
more  than  twenty  thousand  dollars,  while  the  price  of  the 
ship,  as  she  stands,  almost  ready  for  sea,  is  only  fifteen. 
Now,  go  and  look  at  the  vessel ;  if  you  like  her,  I  will  close 
the  bargain  at  once." 

"  But,  my  dear  Mr.  Hardinge,  do  you  think  yourself  ex 
actly  qualified  to  judge  of  the  value  of  a  ship  ?" 

"  Poh !  poh !  don't  imagine  I  am  so  conceited  as  to  pur 
chase  on  my  own  knowledge.  I  have  taken  some  of  the 
very  best  advice  of  the  city.  There  is  John  Murray,  to 
begin  with  —  a  great  ship-holder,  himself —  and  Archibald 
Gracie,  and  William  Bayard — all  capital  judges,  have  taken 
an  interest  in  the  affair.  Three  others  of  my  friends  have 
walked  round  to  look  at  the  vessel,  and  all  approve — not  a 
dissenting  voice." 

"  May  I  ask,  sir,  who  have  seen  her,  besides  the  gentle 
men  you  have  named?  they,  I  admit,  are,  indeed,  good 
judges." 

•'  Why  1 — why — yes — do  you  happen  to  know  anything 
of  Dr.  Benjamin  Moore,  now,  Miles?" 

"  Never  heard  of  him,  sir,  in  my  life ;  but  a  physician 
can  be  no  great  judge  of  a  ship." 

'*  No  more  of  a  physician  than  yourself,  boy — Dr.  Ben 
jamin  Moore,  the  gentleman  we  elected  Bishop,  while  you 
were  absent — " 

"  Oh !  he  you  wished  to  toast,  instead  of  Miss  Peggy 
Perott — "  cried  I,  smiling.  "  Well,  what  does  the  Bishop 
think  of  her — if  he  approve,  she  must  be  orthodox." 

"  He  says  she  is  the  handsomest  vessel  he  ever  laid  eyes 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  345 

on,  Miles ;  and  let  me  tell  you,  the  favourable  opinion  of  so 
good  a  man  as  Dr.  Moore,  is  of  value,  even  though  it  be 
about  a  ship." 

I  could  not  avoid  laughing,  and  I  dare  say  most  of  the 
readers  will  also,  at  this  touch  of  simplicity ;  and  yet,  why 
should  not  a  Bishop  know  as  much  of  ships,  as  a  set  of  ig 
noramuses  who  never  read  a  theological  book  in  their  lives, 
some  of  them  not  even  the  Bible,  should  know  about 
Bishops  ?  The  circumstance  was  not  a  tittle  more  absurd 
than  many  that  are  occurring  daily  before  our  eyes,  and  to 
which,  purely  from  habit,  we  submit,  very  much  as  a  mat 
ter  of  course. 

«*  Well,  sir,"  I  replied,  as  soon  as  I  could,  "  I  will  look 
at  the  ship,  get  her  character,  and  give  you  an  answer  at 
once.  I  like  the  idea,  for  it  is  pleasant  to  be  one's  own  mas 
ter." 

In  that  day,  815,000  would  buy  a  very  excellent  ship, 
as  ships  went.  The  vessel  I  was  taken  to  see,  was  copper 
ed  and  copper-fastened,  butt-bolted,  and  she  measured  just 
five  hundred  tons.  She  had  a  great  reputation  as  a  sailer, 
and  what  was  thought  a  good  deal  of  in  1802,  was  Phila 
delphia  built.  She  had  been  one  voyage  to  China,  and  was 
little  more  than  a  year  old,  or  the  best  possible  age  for  a 
vessel.  Her  name  was  the  "  Dawn,"  and  she  carried  an 
"  Aurora"  for  her  figure-head.  Whether  she  were,  or  were 
not  inclined  to  Puseyism,  I  never  could  ascertain,  although 
I  can  affirm  she  had  the  services  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Catholic  Church  read  on  board  her  afterwards,  on  more 
than  one  occasion. 

The  result  of  my  examination  and  inquiries  was  favoura 
ble,  and,  by  the  end  of  the  week,  the  Dawn  was  purchased. 
The  owners  of  the  Crisis  were  pleased  to  express  their  re 
grets,  for  they  had  intended  that  I  should  continue  in  the 
command  of  their  vessel,  but  no  one  could  object  to  a  man's 
wishing  to  sail  in  his  own  employment.  I  made  this  im 
portant  acquisition,  at  what  was  probably  the  most  auspi 
cious  moment  of  American  navigation.  It  is  a  proof  of  this, 
that,  the  very  day  I  was  put  in  possession  of  the  ship,  good 
freights  were  offered  to  no  less  than  four  different  parts  of 
the  world.  I  had  my  choice  between  Holland,  France,  Eng 
land,  and  China.  After  consulting  with  my  guardian,  I 


346  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

accepted  that  to  France,  which  not  only  paid  the  best,  but  1 
was  desirous  of  seeing  more  of  the  world  than  had  yet  fallen 
to  my  share.  I  could  make  a  voyage  to  Bordeaux  and  back 
in  five  months,  and  by  the  end  of  that  time  I  should  be  of 
age,  and  consequently  my  own  master.  As  I  intended  to 
have  great  doings  at  Clawbonny  on  that  occasion,  I  thought 
it  might  be  well  not  to  go  too  far  from  home.  Accordingly, 
after  shipping  Talcott  and  the  Philadelphian,  whose  name 
was  Walton,  for  my  mates,  we  began  to  take  in  cargo,  as 
soon  as  possible. 

In  the  meantime,  I  bethought  me  of  a  visit  to  the  paternal 
home.  It  was  a  season  of  the  year,  when  most  people,  who 
were  anybodies,  left  town,  and  the  villas  along  the  shores 
of  the  Hudson  had  long  been  occupied.  Mr.  Hardinge,  too, 
pined  for  the  country  and  his  flock.  The  girls  had  had 
enough  of  town,  which  was  getting  to  be  very  dull,  and 
everybody,  Rupert  excepted,  seemed  anxious  to  go  up  the 
river.  I  had  invited  the  Mertons  to  pass  part  of  the  summer 
at  the  farm,  moreover,  and  it  was  time  the  invitation  should 
be  renewed,  for  the  Major's  physicians  had  advised  him  to 
choose  some  cooler  residence  than  the  streets  of  a  hot  close 
town  could  furnish,  during  the  summer  months.  Emily  had 
been  so  much  engrossed  with  the  set  into  which  she  had 
fallen,  since  her  landing,  and  which  it  was  easy  for  me  to 
see  was  altogether  superior  to  that  in  which  she  had  lived 
at  home,  that  I  was  surprised  at  the  readiness  with  which 
she  urged  her  father  to  redeem  his  promise. 

"  Mr.  Hardinge  tells  me,  sir,  that  Clawbonny  is  really  a 
pretty  spot,"  she  said,  "  and  the  country  around  it  is  thought 
to  be  very  healthy.  You  cannot  get  answers  from  home  (she 
meant  England)  for  several  months,  and  I  know  Captain 
Wallingford  will  be  happy  to  receive  us.  Besides,  we  are 
pledged  to  accept  this  additional  favour  from  him." 

I  thought  Major  Merton  felt  some  of  my  own  surprise  at 
Emily's  earnestness  and  manner,  but  his  resistance  was  very 
feeble.  The  old  gentleman's  health,  indeed,  was  pretty 
thoroughly  undermined,  and  I  began  to  have  serious  doubt3 
of  his  living  even  to  return  to  Europe.  He  had  some  rela 
tives  in  Boston,  and  had  opened  a  correspondence  with  them, 
and  I  had  thought,  more  than  once,  of  the  expediency  of 
apprising  them  of  his  situation.  At  present,  however 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  347 

nothing  better  could  be  done  than  to  get  him  into  the 
country. 

Having  made  all  the  arrangements  with  the  others,  I  went 
to  persuade  Rupert  to  be  of  the  party,  for  I  thought  it  would 
make  both  Grace  and  Lucy  so  much  the  happier. 

"  Miles,  my  dear  fellow,"  said  the  young  student,  gaping, 
"  Clawbonny  is  certainly  a  capitalish  place,  but,  you  will 
admit  it  is  somewhat  stupid  after  New  York.  My  good 
kinswoman,  Mrs.  Bradfort,  has  taken  such  a  fancy  to  us 
all,  and  has  made  me  so  comfortable — would  you  believe  it, 
boy,  she  has  actually  given  me  six  hundred  a  year,  for  the 
last  two  years,  besides  making  Lucy  presents  fit  for  a  queen. 
A  sterling  woman  is  she,  this  cousin  Margaret  of  ours  !" 

I  heard  this,  truly,  not  without  surprise ;  for,  in  settling 
with  my  owners,  I  found  Rupert  had  drawn  every  cent  to 
which  he  was  entitled,  under  the  orders  I  had  left  when  I 
last  went  to  sea. 

As  Mrs.  Bradfort  was  more  than  at  her  ease,  however,  had 
no  nearer  relative  than  Mr.  Hardinge,  and  was  much  attached 
to  the  family,  I  had  no  difficulty  in  believing  it  true,  so  far 
as  the  lady's  liberality  was  concerned.  I  heartily  wished 
Kupert  had  possessed  more  self-respect ;  but  he  was,  as  he 
was! 

"  I  am  sorry  you  cannot  go  with  us,"  I  answered,  "  for  I 
counted  on  you  to  help  amuse  the  Mertons — " 

"  The  Mertons !  —  Why,  surely,  they  are  not  going  to 
pass  the  summer  at  Clawbonny  !" 

"  They  quit  town  with  us,  to-morrow.  Why  should  not 
the  Mertons  pass  the  summer  at  Clawbonny  ?" 

"  Why,  Miles,  my  dear  boy,  you  know  how  it  is  with  the 
world —  how  it  is  with  these  English,  in  particular.  They 
think  everything  of  rank,  you  know,  and  are  devotees  of 
style  and  appearance,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  you  know, 
as  no  one  understands  better  than  myself;  for  I  pass  most 
of  my  time  in  the  English  set,  you  know." 

I  did  not  then  understand  what  had  come  over  Rupert, 
though  it  is  all  plain  enough  to  me,  now.  He  had,  truly 
enough,  got  into  what  was  then  called  the  English  set.  Now, 
there  is  no  question,  that,  so  far  as  the  natives,  themselves, 
were  concerned,  this  was  as  good  a  set  as  ever  existed  in 
'his  country ;  and,  it  is  also  beyond  all  cavil,  that  many 


348  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

respectable  English  persons,  of  both  sexes,  were  occasionally 
found  in  it ;  but,  it  had  this  great  defect :  —  every  English 
man  who  wore  a  good  coat,  and  had  any  of  the  slang  of 
society,  made  his  way  into  the  outskirts,  at  least,  of  this  set ; 
and  Rupert,  whose  own  position  was  not  yet  thoroughly 
confirmed,  had  fallen  a  great  deal  into  the  association  of 
these  accidental  comers  and  goers.  They  talked  large, 
drank  deep,  and  had  a  lofty  disdain  for  everything  in  the 
country,  though  it  was  very  certain  they  were  just  then  in 
much  better  company  where  they  were,  than  they  had  ever 
been  at  home.  Like  most  tyroes,  Rupert  fancied  these  blus 
tering  gentry  persons  to  imitate  ;  and,  as  they  seldom  con 
versed  ten  minutes  without  having  something  to  say  of  my 
Lord  A —  or  Sir  John  B — ,  persons  they  had  read  of,  or 
seen  in  the  streets,  he  was  weak  enough  to  imagine  they 
knew  all  about  the  dignitaries  of  the  British  Empire.  As 
Rupert  was  really  a  gentleman,  and  had  good  manners  na 
turally,  it  was  a  grievous  thing  to  see  him  fashioning  him 
self  anew,  as  it  might  be,  on  such  very  questionable  models. 

"  Clawbonny  is  not  a  stylish  place,  I  am  ready  to  allow," 
I  answered,  after  a  moment  of  hesitation  ;  "  still  it  is  respect 
able.  There  is  a  good  farm,  a  valuable  mill,  and  a  goo$, 
old,  comfortable,  straggling,  stone  house." 

**  Very  true,  Miles,  my  dear  fellow,  and  all  as  dear  to  me, 
you  know,  as  the  apple  of  my  eye  —  but  farmish  —  young 
ladies  like  the  good  things  that  comes  from  farms,  but  do 
not  admire  the  homeliness  of  the  residence.  I  speak  of 
young  English  ladies,  in  particular.  Now,  you  see,  Major 
Merton  is  a  field-officer,  and  that  is  having  good  rank  in  a 
respectable  profession,  you  know  —  I  suppose  you  under 
stand,  Miles,  that  the  king  puts  most  of  his  sons  into  the 
army,  or  navy  —  all  this  makes  a  difference,  you  under 
stand?" 

"  I  understand  nothing  about  it ;  what  is  it  to  me  where 
the  king  of  England  puts  his  sons?" 

"  I  wish,  my  dear  Miles,  if  the  truth  must  be  said,  that 
you  and  I  had  been  a  little  less  boyish,  when  we  were  boys, 
than  happened  to  be  the  case.  It  would  have  been  all  the 
better  for  us  both." 

"  Well,  I  wish  no  such  thing.  A  boy  should  be  a  boy, 
and  a  man  a  man.  I  am  content  to  have  been  a  boy,  while 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  349 

I  was  a  boy.     It  is  a  fault  in  this  country,  that  boys  fancy 
themselves  men  too  soon." 

"  Ah  !  my  dear  fellow,  you  will  not,  or  do  not  understand 
me.  What  I  mean  is,  that  we  were  both  precipitate  in  the 
choice  of  a  profession — I  retired  in  time,  but  you  persevere ; 
that  is  all." 

"  You  did  retire  in  season,  my  lad,  if  truth  is  what  you 
are  after ;  for,  had  you  staid  a  hundred  years  on  board  ship, 
you  never  would  have  made  a  sailor." 

When  I  said  this,  I  fancied  I  had  uttered  a  pretty  severe 
thing.  Rupert  took  it  so  coolly,  however,  as  to  satisfy  me 
at  once,  that  he  thought  differently  on  the  subject. 

"  Clearly,  it  is  not  my  vocation.  Nature  intended  me  for 
something  better,  I  trust,  and  I  mistook  a  boyish  inclination 
for  a  taste.  A  little  experience  taught  me  better,  and  I  am 
now  where  I  feel  I  ought  to  be.  I  wish,  Miles,  you  had 
come  to  the  study  of  the  law,  at  the  time  you  went  to  sea. 
You  would  have  been,  by  this  time,  at  the  bar,  and  would 
have  had  a  definite  position  in  society." 

"  I  am  very  glad  I  did  not.  What  the  deuce  should  I 
have  done  as  a  lawyer — or  what  advantage  would  it  have 
been  to  me,  to  be  admitted  to  the  bar?" 

"Advantage!  —  Why,  my  dear  fellow,  every  advantage 
in  the  world.  You  know  how  it  is,  in  this  country,  I  sup 
pose,  in  the  way  of  society,  my  dear  Miles  ?" 

"  Not  I — and,  by  the  little  I  glean  from  the  manner  you 
sheer  about  in  your  discourse,  I  wish  to  know  nothing.  Do 
young  men  study  law  merely  to  be  genteel  ?" 

"  Do  not  despise  knowledge,  my  boy ;  it  is  of  use,  even 
in  trifles.  Now,  in  this  country,  you  know,  we  have  very 
few  men  of  mere  leisure  —  heirs  of  estates,  to  live  on  their 
incomes,  as  is  done  in  Europe ;  but,  nine-tenths  of  us  must 
follow  professions,  of  which  there  are  only  half-a-dozen 
suitable  for  a  gentleman.  The  army  and  navy  are  nothing, 
you  know ;  two  or  three  regiments  scattered  about  in  the 
woods,  and  half-a-dozen  vessels.  After  these,  there  remain 
the  three  learned  professions,  divinity,  law  and  physic.  In 
our  family,  divinity  has  run  out,  I  fear.  As  for  physic, 
*  throw  physic  to  the  dogs,'  as  Miss  Merton  says — " 

"Who?"  I  exclaimed,  in  surprise.     "'Throw  physic  to 
the  dogs' — why  that  is  Shakspeare,  man  1" 
30 


350  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

"  I  know  it,  and  it  is  Miss  Emily  Merton's,  too.  You 
have  made  us  acquainted  with  a  charming  creature,  at  least, 
Miles,  by  this  going  to  sea.  Her  notions  on  such  subjects 
are  as  accurate  as  a  sun-dial." 

"  And,  has  Miss  Emily  Merton  ever  conversed  with  you, 
on  the  subject  of  my  profession,  Rupert?" 

"  Indeed,  she  has ;  and  regretted  it,  again  and  again. 
You  know  as  well  as  I  do,  Miles,  to  be  a  sailor,  other  than 
in  a  navy,  is  not  a  genteel  profession  !" 

I  broke  out  into  a  fit  of  laughter,  at  this  remark.  It 
struck  me  as  infinitely  droll,  and  as  somewhat  silly.  I 
knew  my  precise  position  in  society,  perfectly ;  had  none  of 
the  silly  swaggering  about  personal  merit,  and  of  "  one  man's 
being  as  good  as  another,"  that  has  since  got  into  such 
general  use  among  us ;  and  understood  perfectly  the  useful 
and  unavoidable  classifications  that  take  place  in  all  civil 
ized  communities,  and  which,  while  they  are  attended  by 
certain  disadvantages  as  exceptions,  produce  great  benefits 
as  a  whole,  and  was  not  disposed  at  all  to  exaggerate  my 
claims,  or  to  deny  my  deficiencies.  But,  the  idea  of  attach 
ing  any  considerations  of  gentility  to  my  noble,  manly, 
daring  profession,  sounded  so  absurd,  I  could  not  avoid 
laughing.  In  a  few  moments,  however,  I  became  grave. 

"  Harkee,  Rupert,"  said  I :  "  I  trust  Miss  Merton  does  not 
think  I  endeavoured  to  mislead  her  as  to  my  true  position, 
or  to  make  her  think  I  was  a  greater  personage  than  I  truly 
am?" 

"  I  'It  not  answer  for  that.  When  we  were  first  acquaint 
ed,  I  found  she  had  certain  notions  about  Clawbonny,  and 
your  estate,  and  all  that,  wh':ch  were  rather  English,  you 
know.  Now,  in  England  an  estate  gives  a  man  a  certain 
consideration,  whereas  land  is  so  plenty  with  us,  that  we 
think  nothing  of  the  man  who  happens  to  own  a  little  of  it. 
Stock,  in  America,  as  it  is  so  much  nearer  ready- money,  is 
a  better  thing  than  land,  you  know." 

How  true  was  this,  even  ten  years  since;  how  false  is  it 
to-day  !  The  proprietor  of  tens  of  thousands  of  acres,  was, 
indeed,  under  the  paper-money  regime,  a  less  important 
man  than  the  owner  of  a  handful  of  scrip,  which  has  had 
all  its  value  squeezed  out  of  it,  little  by  little.  That  was 
truly  the  age  when  the  representative  of  property  was  of  far 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  351 

more  importance  than  the  property  itself;  and  all  because 
the  country  existed  in  a  fever,  that  set  everything  in  motion. 
We  shall  see  just  such  times,  again,  I  fear. 

"  But  what  had  Emily  Merton  to  do  with  all  this  ?" 

*'  Miss  Merton  ?  Oh  !  she  is  English,  you  know,  and  felt 
as  English  persons  always  do,  at  the  sound  of  acres.  I  set 
it  all  right,  however,  and  you  need  be  under  no  concern." 

"  The  devil  you  did  !  And,  pray,  in  what  manner  was 
this  done  ?  How  was  the  matter  set  right  1" 

Rupert  took  the  segar  from  his  mouth,  suffered  the  smoke 
to  issue,  by  a  small,  deliberate  jet,  cocking  his  nose  up  at 
the  same  time  as  if  observing  the  stars,  and  then  deigned  to 
give  me  an  answer.  Your  smokers  have  such  a  disdainful, 
ultra-philosophical  manner,  sometimes  ! 

"  Why,  just  in  this  way,  my  fine  fellow.  I  told  her  Claw- 
bonny  was  a  farm,  and  not  an  estate,  you  know ;  that  did 
a  good  deal,  of  itself.  Then,  I  entered  into  an  explanation 
of  the  consideration  of  farmers  in  this  country,  you  know, 
and  made  it  all  as  plain  as  A  B  C.  She  is  a  quick  girl,  is 
Emily,  and  takes  a  thing  remarkably  soon." 

"  Did  Miss  Merton  say  anything  to  induce  you  to  suppose 
she  thought  the  less  of  me,  for  these  explanations." 

"  Of  course  not — she  values  you,  amazingly — quite  wor 
ships  you,  as  a  sailor  —  thinks  you  a  sort  of  merchant- 
captain  Nelson,  or  Blake,  or  Truxtun,  and  all  that  sort  of 
thing.  All  young  ladies,  however,  are  exceedingly  particu 
lar  about  professions,  I  suppose  you  know,  Miles,  as  well  as 
I  do  myself." 

"  What,  Lucy,  Rupert  1 — Do  you  imagine  Lucy  cares  a 
straw  about  my  not  being  a  lawyer,  for  instance  ?" 

" Do  I?— out  of  all  question.  Don't  you  remember  how 
the  girls  wept — Grace  as  well  as  Lucy — when  we  went  to 
sea,  boy.  It  was  all  on  account  of  the  wwgentility  of  the 
profession,  if  a  fellow  can  use  such  a  word." 

I  did  not  believe  this,  for  I  knew  Grace  better,  to  say  the 
least ;  and  thought  I  understood  Lucy  sufficiently,  at  that 
time,  to  know  she  wept  because  she  was  sorry  to  see  me  go 
away.  Still,  Lucy  had  grown  from  a  very  young  girl, 
since  I  sailed  in  the  Crisis,  into  a  young  woman,  and  might 
view  things  differently,  now,  from  what  she  had  done  three 


352  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

years  before.     I  had  not  time,  however,  for  further  discus 
sion  at  that  moment,  and  I  cut  the  matter  short. 

«« Well,  Rupert,  what  am  I  to  expect?"  I  asked  ;  "  Claw- 
bonny,  or  no  Clawbonny  ?" 

"  Why,  now  you  say  the  Mertons  are  to  be  of  the  party 
I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  go ;  it  would  be  inhospitable  else. 
I  do  wish,  Miles,  you  would  manage  to  establish  visiting 
relations  with  some  of  the  families  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river.  There  are  plenty  of  respectable  people  within  a  few 
hours'  sail  of  Clawbonny." 

"  My  father,  and  my  grandfather,  and  my  great-grand 
father,  managed,  as  you  call  it,  to  get  along,  for  the  last 
hundred  years,  well  enough  on  the  west  side ;  and,  although 
we  are  not  quite  as  genteel  as  the  east,  we  will  do  well 
enough.  The  Wallingford  sails  early  in  the  morning,  to 
save  the  tide ;  and  I  hope  your  lordship  will  turn  out  in 
season,  and  not  keep  us  waiting.  If  you  do,  I  shall  be  wn- 
genteel  enough  to  leave  you  behind." 

I  left  Rupert  with  a  feeling  in  which  disgust  and  anger 
were  blended.  I  wish  to  be  understood,  more  particularly 
as  I  know  I  am  writing  for  a  stiff-necked  generation.  I 
never  was  guilty  of  the  weakness  of  decrying  a  thing  be 
cause  I  did  not  happen  to  possess  it  myself.  I  knew  my 
own  place  in  the  social  scale  perfectly;  nor  was  I,  as  I 
have  just  said,  in  the  least  inclined  to  fancy  that  one  man 
was  as  good  as  another.  I  knew  very  well  that  this  was 
not  true,  either  in  nature  or  in  the  social  relations ;  in  poli 
tical  axioms,  any  more  than  in  political  truths.  At  the  same 
time,  I  did  not  believe  nature  had  created  men  unequal,  in  the 
order  of  primogeniture  from  male  to  male.  Keeping  in  view 
all  the  facts,  I  was  perfectly  disposed  to  admit  that  habits,  edu 
cation,  association,  and  sometimes  chance  and  caprice,  drew 
distinctions  that  produced  great  benefits,  as  a  whole;  in  some 
small  degree  qualified,  perhaps,  by  cases  of  individual  injus 
tice.  This  last  exception,  however,  being  applicable  to  all 
things  human,  it  had  no  influence  on  my  opinions,  which 
were  sound  and  healthful  on  all  these  points ;  practical, 
common-sense-like,  and  in  conformity  with  the  decisions  of 
the  world  from  the  time  of  Moses  down  to  our  own,  or,  I 
dare  say,  of  Adam  himself,  if  the  truth  could  be  known  J 
and,  as  I  have  said  more  than  once  in  these  rambling  me- 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  353 

moirs,  I  was  not  disposed  to  take  a  false  view  of  my  own 
social  position.  I  belonged,  at  most,  to  the  class  of  small 
proprietors,  as  they  existed  in  the  last  century,  and  filled  a 
very  useful  and  respectable  niche  between  the  yeoman  and 
gentleman,  considering  the  last  strictly  in  reference  to  the 
upper  class  of  that  day.  Now,  it  struck  me  that  Emily 
Merton,  with  her  English  notions,  might  very  well  draw  the 
distinctions  Rupert  had  mentioned ;  nor  am  I  conscious  of 
having  cared  much  about  it,  though  she  did.  If  I  were  a 
less  important  person  on  terra  Jirma,  with  all  the  usages 
and  notions  of  ordinary  society  producing  their  influence, 
than  I  had  been  when  in  command  of  the  Crisis,  in  the  cen 
tre  of  the  Pacific,  so  was  Miss  Merton  a  less  important 
young  lady,  in  the  midst  of  the  beauty  of  New  York,  than 
she  had  been  in  the  isolation  of  Marble  Land.  This  I  could 
feel  very  distinctly.  But  Lucy's  supposed  defection  did 
more  than  annoy  me.  I  felt  humbled,  mortified,  grieved.  I 
had  always  known  that  Lucy  was  better  connected  than  J 
was  myself,  and  I  had  ever  given  Rupert  and  her  the  benefit 
of  this  advantage,  as  some  offset  to  my  own  and  Grace's 
larger  means ;  but  it  had  never  struck  me  that  either  the 
brother  or  sister  would  be  disposed  to  look  down  upon  us  in 
consequence.  The  world  is  everywhere — and  America,  on 
account  of  its  social  vicissitudes,  more  than  most  other  coun 
tries —  constantly  exhibiting  pictures  of  the  struggles  be 
tween  fallen  consequence  and  rising  wealth.  The  last  may, 
and  does  have  the  best  of  it,  in  the  mere  physical  part  of  the 
strife ;  but  in  the  more  moral,  if  such  a  word  can  be  used, 
the  quiet  ascendency  of  better  manners  and  ancient  recol 
lections  is  very  apt  to  overshadow  the  fussy  pretensions  of 
the  vulgar  aspirant,  who  places  his  claims  altogether  on  the 
all-mighty  dollar.  It  is  vain  to  deny  it ;  men  ever  have 
done  it,  and  probably  ever  will  defer  to  the  past,  in  matters 
of  this  sort — it  being  much  with  us,  in  this  particular,  as  it 
is  with  our  own  lives,  which  have  had  all  their  greatest  en 
joyments  in  bygone  days.  I  knew  all  this — felt  all  this — 
and  was  greatly  afraid  that  Lucy,  through  Mrs.  Bradfort's 
influence,  and  her  town  associations,  might  have  learned  to 
regard  me  as  Captain  Wallingford,  of  the  merchant-service, 
and  the  son  of  another  Captain  Wallingjfbrd  of  the  same  line 
in  life.  I  determined,  therefore,  to  watch  her  with  jealous 
30* 


354  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

attention,  during  the  few  days  I  was  to  remain  at  Clawbonny. 
With  such  generous  intentions,  the  reader  is  not  to  be  sur 
prised  if  I  found  some  of  that  for  which  I  so  earnestly 
sought — people  being  very  apt  to  find  precisely  the  thing  for 
which  they  look,  when  it  is  not  lost  money. 

The  next  morning  we  were  all  punctual,  and  sailed  at  the 
proper  hour.  The  Mertons  seemed  pleased  with  the  river, 
and,  having  a  fresh  southerly  wind  in  our  favour,  with  a 
strong  flood-tide,  we  actually  landed  at  the  mill  the  same 
afternoon.  Everything  is  apt  to  be  agreeable  when  the  tra 
veller  gets  on  famously ;  and  I  thought  I  never  saw  Emily 
in  better  spirits  than  she  was  when  we  first  reached  the  top 
of  the  ascent  that  lies  above  the  landing.  I  had  given  her 
my  arm,  as  due  to  hospitality,  while  the  others  got  up  as 
they  could ;  for  I  observed  that  Rupert  assisted  no  one.  As 
for  Lucy,  I  was  still  too  much  vexed  with  her,  and  had  been 
so  all  day,  to  be  as  civil  as  I  ought.  We  were  soon  at  a 
point  that  commanded  a  view  of  the  house,  meadows,  orch 
ards  and  fields. 

"  This,  then,  is  Clawbonny  !"  exclaimed  Emily,  as  soon 
as  I  pointed  out  the  place  to  her.  "  Upon  my  word,  a  very 
pretty  farm,  Captain  Wallingford.  Even  prettier  than  you 
represented  it  to  be,  Mr.  Rupert  Hardinge." 

"  Oh  !  I  always  do  justice  to  everything  of  Wallingford's, 
you  know.  We  were  children  together,  and  became  so 
much  attached  in  early  life,  that  it's  no  wonder  we  remain 
so  in  these  our  later  days." 

Rupert  was  probably  nearer  the  truth  than  he  imagined, 
when  he  made  this  speech  ;  my  regard  for  him,  by  this  time, 
being  pretty  much  reduced  to  habit ;  and  certainly  it  had  no 
increase  from  any  fresh  supplies  of  respect.  I  began  to 
hope  he  might  not  marry  Grace,  though  I  had  formerly 
looked  forward  to  the  connection  as  a  settled  thing.  '«  Let 
him  get  Miss  Merton,  if  he  can,"  I  said  to  myself;  "  it  will 
be  no  great  acquisition,  I  fancy,  to  either  side." 

How  different  was  it  with  his  father,  and,  I  may  add, 
with  Lucy  !  The  old  gentleman  turned  to  me,  with  toars  in 
his  eyes ;  pointed  to  the  dear  old  house,  with  a  look  of  de 
light  ;  and  then  took  my  arm,  without  reference  to  the  wants 
of  Miss  Merton,  and  led  me  on,  conversing  earnestly  of  my 
affairs,  and  of  his  own  stewardship.  Lucy  had  her  father's 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  355 

arm,  on  the  other  side ;  and  the  good  divine  was  too  much 
accustomed  to  her,  to  mind  the  presence  of  his  daughter. 
Away  we  three  went,  therefore,  leading  the  way,  while  Ru 
pert  took  charge  of  Emily  and  Grace.  Major  Merton  fol 
lowed,  leaning  on  his  own  man. 

"  It  is  a  lovely — it  is  a  lovely  spot,  Miles,"  said  Mr.  Har- 
dinge ;  "  and  I  do  most  sincerely  hope  you  will  never  think 
of  tearing  down  that  respectable-looking,  comfortable,  sub 
stantial,  good  old-fashioned  house,  to  build  a  new  one." 

"  Why  should  I,  dear  sir?  The  house,  with  an  occasional 
addition,  all  built  in  the  same  style,  has  served  us  a  century, 
and  may  very  well  serve  another.  Why  should  I  wish  for 
more,  or  a  better  house  ?" 

•'  Why,  sure  enough?  But,  now  you  are  a  sort  of  a 
merchant,  you  may  grow  rich,  and  wish  to  be  the  proprietor 
of  a  seat" 

The  time  had  been,  when  such  thoughts  often.crossed  my 
mind ;  but  I  cared  less  for  them,  then.  To  own  a  seat,  was 
the  great  object  of  my  ambition  in  boyhood  ;  but  the  thought 
had  weakened  by  time  and  reflection. 

"  What  does  Lucy  think  of  the  matter  ?  Do  I  want,  or 
indeed  deserve,  a  better  house  ?" 

"  I  shall  not  answer  either  question,"  replied  the  dear 
girl,  a  little  saucily,  I  thought.  "  I  do  not  understand  your 
wants,  and  do  not  choose  to  speak  of  your  deservings.  But 
I  fancy  the  question  will  be  settled  by  a  certain  Mrs.  Wal- 
lingford,  one  of  these  days.  Clever  women  generally  deter 
mine  these  things  for  their  husbands." 

I  endeavoured  to  catch  Lucy's  eye,  when  this  was  said, 
by  leaning  a  little  forward  myself;  but  the  girl  turned  her 
head  in  such  a  manner  as  prevented  my  seeing  her  face. 
The  remark  was  not  lost  on  Mr.  Hardinge,  however,  who 
took  it  up  with  warmth,  and  all  the  interest  of  a  most  pure 
and  disinterested  affection. 

"  I  suppose  you  will  think  of  marrying  one  of  these  days, 
Miles,"  he  said  ;  "  but,  on  no  account,  marry  a  woman  who 
will  desert  Clawbonny,  or  who  would  wish  materially  to 
alter  it.  No  good-hearted  woman,  indeed — no  true-hearted 
woman — would  ever  dream  of  either.  Dear  me !  dear  me! 
the  happy  days  and  the  sorrowful  days — the  gracious  mer 
cies  of  Providence,  and  the  chastening  afflictions — that  I 


356  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

myself  have  seen,  and  felt,  and  witnessed,  under  these  same 
roofs !" 

This  was  followed  by  a  sort  of  enumeration  of  the  events 
of  the  last  forty  years,  including  passages  in  the  lives  of  all 
who  had  dwelt  at  the  farm ;  the  whole  concluding  with  the 
divine's  solemnly  repeating — "  No,  no !  Miles  ;  do  not  think, 
even,  of  marrying  a  woman  who  would  wish  you  to  desert, 
or  materially  alter,  Clawbonny." 


CHAPTER  XXHI. 

"  If  thou  be'st  rated  by  thy  estimation, 
Thou  dost  deserve  enough ;  and  yet  enough 
May  not  extend  so  far  as  to  the  lady." 

Merchant  of  Venice. 

NEXT  morning,  I  was  early  afoot,  and  I  found  Grace  as 
much  alive  to  the  charms  of  home,  as  I  was  myself.  She 
put  on  a  gypsy,  and  accompanied  me  into  the  garden, 
where  to  my  surprise,  I  found  Lucy.  It  looked  like  old 
times  to  be  in  that  spot,  again,  with  those  two  dear  girls. 
Rupert  alone  was  wanting  to  complete  the  picture ;  but,  I 
had  an  intimate  conviction  that  Rupert,  as  he  had  been  at 
least,  could  never  come  within  the  setting  of  the  family 
group  again.  I  was  rejoiced,  however,  to  see  Lucy,  and 
more  so,  just  where  I  found  her,  and  I  believe  told  her  as 
much  with  my  eyes.  The  charming  girl  looked  happier 
than  she  had  appeared  the  day  before,  or  for  many  previous 
days  indeed,  and  I  felt  less  apprehension  than  of  late,  con 
cerning  her  having  met  with  any  agreeable  youth  of  a  more 
genteel  profession  than  that  of  a  merchant-captain. 

"  I  did  not  expect  to  find  you  here,  Miss  Lucy,"  cried 
Grace,  "  eating  half-ripe  currants,  too,  or  my  eyes  deceive 
me,  at  this  early  hour  in  the  morning.  It  is  not  twenty 
minutes  since  you  were  in  your  own  room,  quite  un 
adorned." 

"  The  green  fruit  of  dear  Clawbonny  is  better  than  the 
ripe  fruit  of  those  vile  New  York  markets !"  exclaimed 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  357 

Lucy,  with  a  fervour  so  natural  as  to  forbid  any  suspicion 
of  acting.  "  I  should  prefer  a  Clawbonny  potatoe,  to  a 
New  York  peach  !" 

Grace  smiled,  and,  as  soon  as  Lucy's  animation  had  a 
litlle  subsided,  she  blushed. 

"  How  much  better  would  it  he,  Miles,"  my  sister  re 
sumed,  "  could  you  be  induced  to  think  and  feel  with  us, 
and  quit  the  seas,  to  come  and  live  for  the  rest  of  your  days 
on  the  spot  where  your  fathers  have  so  long  lived  before 
you.  Would  it  not,  Lucy?" 

"  Miles  will  never  do  that"  Lucy  answered,  with  em 
phasis.  "  Men  are  not  like  us  females  who  love  everything 
we  love  at  all,  with  our  whole  hearts.  Men  prefer  wander 
ing  about,  and  being  shipwrecked,  and  left  on  desert  islands, 
to  remaining  quietly  at  home,  on  their  own  farms.  No,  no; 
you  '11  never  persuade  Miles  to  do  that.11 

"  I  am  not  astonished  my  brother  thinks  desert  islands 
such  pleasant  abodes,  when  he  can  find  companions  like 
Miss  Merton  on  them." 

"  You  will  remember,  sister  of  mine,  in  the  first  place, 
that  Marble  Land  is  very  far  from  being  a  desert  island  at 
all ;  and,  in  the  next,  that  I  first  found  Miss  Merton  in  Hyde 
Park,  London ;  almost  in  the  canal,  for  that  matter." 

"  I  think  it  a  little  odd  that  Miles  never  told  us  all  about 
this,  in  his  letters,  at  the  time,  Lucy.  When  young  gentle 
men  drag  young  ladies  out  of  canals,  their  friends  at  home 
have  a  right  to  know  something  of  the  matter." 

How  much  unnecessary  misery  is  inflicted  by  unmeaning 
expressions  like  this.  Grace  spoke  lightly,  and  probably 
without  a  second  thought  about  the  matter ;  but  the  little 
she  said,  not  only  made  me  thoughtful  and  uneasy,  but  it 
drove  everything  like  a  smile  from  the  usually  radiant  coun 
tenance  of  her  friend.  The  conversation  dragged ;  and, 
soon  after,  we  returned  together  to  the  house. 

I  was  much  occupied  that  morning,  in  riding  about  the 
place  with  Mr.  Hardinge,  and  in  listening  to  his  account  of 
his  stewardship.  With  the  main  results  I  was  already 
acquainted  —  nay,  possessed  them  in  the  Dawn,  —  but  the 
details  had  all  to  be  gone  over,  with  the  most  minute  accu 
racy.  A  more  simple-minded  beinj*  there  was  not  on  earth 
than  Mr.  Hardinge ;  and,  that  my  affairs  turned  out  so  well 


358  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

was  the  result  of  the  prosperous  condition  of  the  country  at 
that  day,  the  system  my  father  had  adopted  in  his  life-time, 
and  the  good  qualities  of  the  different  agents  he  had  chosen, 
every  one  of  whom  remained  in  the  situation  in  which  he 
was  at  the  sad  moment  of  the  fatal  accident  at  the  mill. 
Had  matters  really  depended  on  the  knowledge  and  manage 
ment  of  the  most  excellent  divine,  they  would  soon  have 
been  at  sixes  and  sevens. 

"  I  am  no  believer  in  miracles,  my  dear  Miles,"  observed 
my  guardian,  with  amusing  self-complacency ;  "  but  I  do 
think  a  change  has  been  wrought  in  me,  to  meet  the  emer 
gencies  of  a  situation,  in  which  the  interests  of  two  orphans 
have  been  so  suddenly  intrusted  to  my  guidance  and  care. 
God  be  thanked  !  everything  prospers  ;  your  affairs,  as  well 
as  those  of  my  dear  Grace.  It  is  wonderful,  boy,  how  a 
man  of  my  habits  has  been  directed  in  his  purchases  of 
wheat,  for  instance  ;  I,  who  never  bought  a  bushel  until  the 
whole  responsibility  of  your  mills  fell  upon  my  shoulders. 
I  take  no  credit  to  myself  for  it — no  credit  to  myself!" 

"  I  hope  the  miller  has  not  been  backward,  my  dear  sir, 
in  giving  you  all  the  assistance  in  his  power." 

"  Morgan  ? —  yes  ;  he  is  always  ready,  and  you  know  I 
never  forget  to  send  him  into  the  market  to  both  buy  and 
sell.  Really,  his  advice  has  been  so  excellent,  that  to  me  it 
has  the  appearance  of  being  almost  miraculous — prophetic, 
I  should  say,  were  it  not  improper.  We  should  avoid  all 
exaggeration  in  our  gratitude,  boy." 

"Very  truly,  sir.  And  in  what  manner  have  you 
managed  to  get  along  so  well  with  the  crops,  on  the  place, 
itself?" 

"  Favoured  by  the  same  great  adviser,  Miles.  It  is  really 
wonderful,  the  crops  we  have  had  ;  'and  the  judgment  that 
has  been  so  providentially  shown  in  the  management  of  the 
fields,  as  well  as  of  the  mills  !" 

"  Of  course,  sir,  old  Hiram  (Neb's  uncle)  has  always 
been  ready  to  give  you  his  aid  ?  —  Hiram  has  a  great  deal 
of  judgment,  in  his  way." 

'*  No  doubt — no  doubt — Hiram  and  I  have  done  it  all,  led 
by  a  Providential  counsel.  Well,  my  boy,  you  ought  to  be 
satisfied  with  your  earthly  lot ;  for  every  thing  seems  to  prosper 
that  belongs  to  you.  Of  course,  you  will  marry,  one  of 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  359 

these  days,  and  transmit  this  place  to  your  son,  as  it  has 
been  received  from  your  fathers  7" 

"  I  keep  that  hope  in  perspective,  sir ;  or,  as  we  sailors 
say,  for  a  sheet-anchor." 

"  Your  hope  of  salvation,  boy,  is  your  sheet-anchor,  I 
trust.  Nevertheless,  we  are  not  to  be  too  hard  on  young 
men,  and  must  let  them  have  a  little  romance  in  their  com 
positions.  Yes,  yes  ;  I  trust  you  will  not  become  so  much 
wedded  to  your  ship,  as  not  to  think  of  taking  a  wife,  one 
of  these  days.  It  will  be  a  happy  hour  to  me,  when  I  can 
see  another  Mrs.  Miles  Wallingford  at  Clawbonny.  She 
will  be  the  third ;  for  I  can  remember  your  grandmother." 

"  Can  you  recommend  to  me  a  proper  person  to  fill  that 
honourable  station,  sir  ?"  said  I,  smiling  to  myself,  and  ex 
ceedingly  curious  to  hear  the  answer. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  this  Miss  Merton,  boy  ?  She  is 
handsome,  and  that  pleases  young  men  ;  clever,  and  that 
pleases  old  ones  ;  well-educated,  and  that  will  last,  when  the 
beauty  is  gone ;  and,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  amiable ;  and 
that  is  as  necessary  to  a  wife,  as  fidelity.  Marry  no  wo 
man,  Miles,  that  is  not  amiable  /" 

"  May  I  ask  what  you  call  amiable,  sir?  —  And,  when 
that  question  is  answered,  I  may  venture  to  go  so  far  as  to 
inquire  whom  you  call  amiable  ?" 

"  Very  sensible  distinctions,  and  such  as  are  entitled  to 
fair  answers  ;  at  least  the  first.  I  do  not  call  levity,  amia 
bility ;  nor  mere  constitutional  gaiety.  Some  of  the  seem 
ingly  most  light-hearted  women  I  have  ever  known,  have 
been  anything  but  amiable.  There  must  be  an  unusual 
absence  of  selfishness, — a  person  must  live  less  for  herself, 
than  others— or  rather,  must  find  her  own  happiness  in  the 
happiness  of  those  she  loves,  to  make  a  truly  amiable  wo 
man.  Heart  and  principle  are  at  the  bottom  of  what  is 
truly  amiable ;  though  temperament  and  disposition  un- . 
doubtedly  contribute.  As  for  the  whom,  your  own  sister 
Grace  is  a  truly  amiable  young  woman.  I  never  knew  her 
do  anything  to  hurt  another's  feelings  in  my  life." 

"  I  suppose  you  will  admit,  sir,  I  cannot  very  well  marry 
Grace?" 

"  I  wish  you  could,  with  all  my  heart — yes,  with  all  my 
heart !  Were  not  you  and  Grace  brother  and  sister,  I  should 


360  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

consider  myself  well  quit  of  the  responsibility  of  my  guar 
dianship,  in  seeing  you  man  and  wife." 

"  As  that  is  out  of  the  question,  I  am  not  without  hopes 
you  can  mention  another  who  will  do  just  as  well,  so  far  as 
I  am  concerned." 

"  Well,  there  is  this  Miss  Merton — though  I  do  not  know 
her  well  enough  to  venture  absolutely  on  a  recommendation. 
Now,  I  told  Lucy,  no  later  than  yesterday,  while  we  were 
on  the  river,  and  as  you  were  pointing  out  to  Miss  Merton 
the  forts  in  the  Highlands,  that  I  thought  you  would  make 
one  of  the  handsomest  couples  in  the  state — and,  moreover, 
I  told  her  —  bless  me,  how  this  corn  grows  !  The  plants 
will  be  in  tassel  in  a  few  days,  and  the  crop  must  turn  out 
most  beneficent — truly,  truly — there  is  a  providence  in  all 
things ;  for,  at  first,  I  was  for  putting  the  corn  on  yonder 
hill-side,  and  the  potatoes  here ;  but  old  Hiram  was  led  by 
some  invisible  agency  to  insist  on  this  field  for  the  corn,  and 
the  hill-side  for  the  potatoes — and,  now,  look,  and  see  what 
crops  are  in  promise !  Think  of  a  nigger's  blundering  on 
such  a  thing  ?" 

In  1802,  even  well-educated  and  well-intentioned  clergy 
men  had  no  scruples  in  saying  "  nigger." 

"  But,  sir,  you  have  quite  forgotten  to  add  what  else  you 
told  Lucy?" 

"  True — true — it  is  very  natural  that  you  should  prefer 
hearing  me  talk  about  Miss  Merton,  to  hearing  me  talk 
about  potatoes — I  '11  tell  that  to  Lucy,  too,  you  may  depend 
on  it." 

"  I  sincerely  hope  you  will  do  no  such  thing,  my  dear 
sir,"  I  cried,  in  no  little  alarm. 

"Ah!  that  betrays  guilt  —  consciousness,  I  should  say  ; 
for  what  guilt  can  there  be  in  a  virtuous  love? — and  rely  on 
it,  both  the  girls  shall  know  all  about  it.  Lucy  and  I  often 
talk  over  your  matters,  Miles ;  for  she  loves  you  as  well 
as  your  own  sister.  Ah !  my  fine  fellow,  you  blush  at 
it,  like  a  girl  of  sixteen !  But,  there  is  nothing  to  be 
ashamed  of,  and  there  is  no  occasion  for  blushes." 

"Well,  sir,  letting  my  blushes  —  the  blushes  of  a  ship 
master  !  —  but  setting  aside  my  blushes,  for  mercy's  sake 
what  more  did  you  tell  Lucy  ?" 

"  What  more  ?     Why  I  told  her  how  you  nad  been  on  a 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  361 

desert  island,  quite  alone  as  one  might  say,  with  Miss  Mer- 
ton,  and  how  you  had  been  at  sea,  living  in  the  same  cabin 
as  it  were,  for  nine  months ;  and  it  would  be  wonderful  — 
wonderful,  indeed,  if  two  so  handsome  young  persons  should 
not  feel  an  attachment  for  each  other.  Country  might 
make  some  difference,  to  be  sure — " 

"And  station,  sir?  — What  do  you  think  would  be  the 
influence  of  the  difference  of  station,  also  ?" 

"  Station  ! — Bless  me,  Miles ;  what  difference  in  station  is 
there  between  you  and  Miss  Merton,  that  it  should  cause 
any  obstacle  to  your  union  ?" 

"  You  know  what  it  is,  sir,  as  well  as  I  do  myself.  She 
is  the  daughter  of  an  officer  in  the  British  army,  and  I  am 
the  master  of  a  ship.  You  will  admit,  I  presume,  Mr.  Har- 
dinge,  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  difference  in  station  ?" 

"  Beyond  all  question.  It  is  exceedingly  useful  to  re 
member  it ;  and  I  greatly  fear  the  loose  appointments  of 
magistrates  and  other  functionaries,  that  are  making  round 
the  country,  will  bring  all  our  notions  on  such  subjects  into 
great  confusion.  I  can  understand  that  one  man  is  as  good 
as  another  in  rights,  Miles ;  but  I  cannot  understand  he  is 
any  better,  because  he  happens  to  be  uneducated,  ignorant, 
or  a  blackguard." 

Mr.  Hardinge  was  a  sensible  man  in  all  such  distinctions, 
though  so  simple  in  connection  with  other  matters. 

"  You  can  have  no  difficulty,  however,  in  understanding 
that,  in  New  York,  for  instance,  I  should  not  be  considered 
the  equal  of  Major  Merton — I  mean  socially,  altogether,  and 
not  in  personal  merit,  or  the  claims  which  years  give  — 
and  of  course,  not  the  equal  of  his  daughter  ?" 

"  Why — yes — I  know  what  you  mean,  now.  There  may 
be  some  little  inequality  in  that  sense,  perhaps ;  but  Claw- 
bonny,  and  the  ship,  and  the  money  at  use,  would  be  very 
apt  to  strike  a  balance." 

"  I  am  afraid  not,  sir.  I  should  have  studied  law,  sir, 
had  I  wished  to  make  myself  a  gentleman." 

"  There  are  lots  of  vulgar  fellows  getting  into  the  law, 
Miles — men  who  have  not  half  your  claims  to  be  considered 
gentlemen.  I  hope  you  do  not  think  I  wished  you  and  Ru 
pert  to  study  law  in  order  to  make  gentlemen  of  you  ?" 

'*  No,  sir ;  it  was  unnecessary  to  take  that  step  as  regards 
31 


362  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

Rupert,  who  was  fully  born  in  the  station.  Clergymen 
have  a  decided  position  all  over  the  world,  I  believe ;  and 
then  you  are  extremely  well  connected  otherwise,  Mr.  Har 
dinge.  Rupert  has  no  occasion  for  such  an  assistance  — 
with  me  it  was  a  little  different." 

"  Miles — Miles — this  is  a  strange  fancy  to  come  over  a 
young  man  in  your  situation  —  and  who,  I  am  afraid,  has 
been  the  subject  of  envy,  only  too  often,  to  Rupert  P' 

"  If  the  truth  were  known,  Mr.  Hardinge,  I  dare  say  both 
Rupert  and  Lucy,  in  their  secret  hearts,  think  they  possess 
advantages,  in  the  way  of  social  station,  that  do  not  belong 
to  Grace  and  myself." 

Mr.  Hardinge  looked  hurt,  and  I  was  soon  sorry  that  I 
had  made  this  speech.  Nor  would  I  have  the  reader  ima 
gine  that  what  I  had  said,  proceeded  in  the  least  from  that 
narrow  selfish  feeling,  which,  under  the  blustering  preten 
sion  of  equality,  presumes  to  deny  the  existence  of  a  very 
potent  social  fact ;  but  simply  from  the  sensitiveness  of  feel 
ings,  which,  on  this  subject,  were  somewhat  in  danger  of 
becoming  morbid,  through  the  agency  of  the  most  powerful 
passion  of  the  human  heart — or,  that  which  has  well  been 
called  the  master-passion.  Nevertheless,  Mr.  Hardinge  was 
much  too  honest  a  man  to  deny  a  truth,  and  much  too  sin 
cere  to  wish  even  to  prevaricate  about  it,  however  unplea 
sant  it  might  be  to  acknowledge  it,  in  all  its  unpleasant 
bearings. 

"  I  now  understand  you,  Miles ;  and  it  would  be  idle  to 
pretend  that  there  is  not  some  justice  in  what  you  say, 
though  I  attach  very  little  importance  to  it,  myself.  Rupert 
is  not  exactly  what  I  could  wish  him  to  be  in  all  things,  and 
possibly  he  may  be  coxcomb  enough,  at  times,  to  fancy  he 
has  this  slight  advantage  over  you, — but,  as  for  Lucy,  I  '11 
engage  she  never  thinks  of  you  but  as  a  second  brother  — 
and  that  she  loves  you  exactly  as  she  loves  Rupert." 

Mr.  Hardinge's  simplicity  was  of  proof,  and  it  was  idle  to 
think  of  making  any  impression  on  it.  I  changed  the  sub 
ject,  therefore,  and  this  was  easily  enough  done,  by  begin 
ning  again  to  talk  about  the  potatoes.  •  I  was  far  from  being 
easy,  nevertheless ;  for  I  could  not  avoid  seeing  that  the 
good  divine's  restlessness  might  readily  widen  the  little 
breach  which  had  opened  between  his  daughter  and  myself. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  363 

That  day,  at  dinner,  I  discovered  that  Grace's  winter  in  town 
had  led  to  a  sensible  melioration  of  the  domestic  economy ; 
most  especially  as  related  to  the  table.  My  father  and  mo 
ther  had  introduced  some  changes,  which  rendered  the 
Clawbonny  household  affairs  a  little  different  from  those  of 
most  other  of  the  Ulster  county  families  near  our  own  class  ; 
but  their  innovations,  or  improvements,  or  whatever  they 
might  be  called,  were  far  from  being  as  decided  as  those 
introduced  by  their  daughter.  Nothing,  perhaps,  sooner 
denotes  the  condition  of  people,  than  the  habits  connected 
with  the  table.  If  eating  and  drinking  be  not  done  in  a 
certain  way,  and  a  way  founded  in  reason,  too,  as  indeed 
are  nearly  all  the  customs  of  polished  life,  whatever  may  be 
the  cant  of  the  ultras  of  reason — but,  if  eating  and  drinking 
be  not  done  in  a  certain  way,  your  people  of  the  world  per 
ceive  it  sooner  than  almost  anything  else.  There  is,  also, 
more  of  common  sense  and  innate  fitness,  in  the  usages  of 
the  table,  so  long  as  they  are  not  dependent  on  mere  caprice, 
than  in  almost  any  other  part  of  our  deportment ;  for 
everybody  must  eat,  and  most  persons  choose  to  eat  decently. 
I  had  been  a  little  nervous  on  the  subject  of  the  Mertons,  in 
connection  with  the  Clawbonny  table,  I  will  confess ;  and 
great  was  my  delight  when  I  found  the  breakfast  going  off 
so  well.  As  for  the  Major,  himself  by  no  means  familiar 
with  the  higher  classes  of  his  own  country,  he  had  that  great 
stamp  of  a  gentleman,  simplicity  ;  and  he  was  altogether 
above  the  cockney  distinctions  of  eating  and  drinking  ;  those 
about  cheese  and  malt  liquors,  and  such  vulgar  niceties ; 
nor  was  he  a  man  to  care  about  the  silver-fcurkisms ;  but  lie 
understood  that  portion  of  the  finesse  of  the  table  which  de 
pended  on  reason  and  taste,  and  was  accustomed^  to  observe 
it.  This  I  knew  from  near  a  twelve-month's  intercourse, 
and  I  had  feared  we  might  turn  out  to  be  a  little  too  rustic. 

Grace  had  made  provisions  against  all  this,  with  a  tact 
and  judgment  for  which  I  could  have  worshipped  her.  I 
knew  the  viands,  the  vegetables,  and  the  wines  would  all  be 
good  of  their  kind,  for  in  these  we  seldom  failed  ;  nor  did 
I  distrust  the  cookery,  the  English  -descended  families  of 
the  Middle  States,  of  my  class,  understanding  that  to  per 
fection  ;  but  I  feared  we  should  fail  in  those  little  incidents 
of  style  and  arrangement,  and  in  the  order  of  the  service, 


364  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

that  denote  a  well-regulated  table.  This  is  just  what  Grace 
had  seen  to ;  and  I  found  that  a  great  revolution  had  been 
quietly  effected  in  this  branch  of  our  domestic  economy 
during  my  absence;  thanks  to  Grace's  observations  while 
at  Mrs.  Brad  fort's. 

Emily  seemed  pleased  at  dinner,  and  Lucy  could  again 
laugh  and  smile.  After  the  cloth  was  removed,  the  Major 
and  Mr.  Hardinge  discussed  a  bottle  of  Madeira,  and  that 
too  of  a  quality  of  which  I  had  no  reason  to  be  ashamed; 
while  we  young  people  withdrew  together  to  a  little  piazza, 
that  was  in  the  shade  at  that  hour,  and  took  seats,  for  a 
chat.  Rupert  was  permitted  to  smoke,  on  condition  that  he 
would  not  approach  within  fifteen  feet  of  the  party.  No 
sooner  was  this  little  group  thus  arranged,  the  three  girls  in 
a  crescent,  than  I  disappeared. 

"  Grace,  I  have  not  yet  spoken  to  you  of  a  necklace  of 
pearls  possessed  by  your  humble  servant,"  I  cried,  as  my 
foot  again  touched  the  piazza.  —  "I  would  not  say  a  word 
about  it-—" 

"  Yet,  Lucy  and  I  heard  all  about  it — "  answered  Grace, 
with  provoking  calmness,  "  but  would  not  ask  to  see  it,  lest 
you  should  accuse  us  of  girlish  curiosity.  We  waited  your 
high  pleasure,  in  the  matter." 

*'  You  and  Lucy  heard  I  had  such  a  necklace !" 

"  Most  unquestionably  ;  I,  Grace  Wallingford,  and  she, 
Lucy  Hardinge.  I  hope  it  is  no  infringement  on  the  rights 
of  Mr.  Miles  Clawbonny  —  "  so  the  girls  often  called  me, 
when  they  affected  to  think  I  was  on  my  high-ropes  —  "I 
hope  it  is  no  infringement  on  the  rights  of  Mr.  Miles  Claw- 
bonny  to  say  as  much." 

"  And  pray  how  covld  you  and  Lucy  know  anything 
about  it?" 

"  That  is  altogether  another  question ;  perhaps  we  may 
accord  an  answer,  after  we  have  seen  the  necklace." 

"  Miss  Merton  told  us,  Miles,"  said  Lucy,  looking  at  me 
with  gentleness,  for  she  saw  1  really  wished  an  answer ;  and 
what  could  Lucy  Hardinge  ever  refuse  me,  that  was  right 
in  itself,  when  she  saw  my  feelings  were  really  interested? 

"  Miss  Merton  ?  Then  I  have  been  betrayed,  and  the 
surprise  I  anticipated  is  lost." 

I  was  vexed,  and  my  manner  must  have  shown  it  in  a 


AFLOAT     ANDASHORE.  365 

slight  degree.  Emily  coloured,  bit  her  lip,  and  said  nothing ; 
but  Grace  made  her  excuses  with  more  spirit  than  it  was 
usual  for  her  to  show. 

"  You  are  rightly  punished,  Master  Miles,"  she  cried ; 
"  for  you  had  no  business  to  anticipate  surprises.  They  are 
vulgar  things  at  best,  and  they  are  worse  than  that  when 
they  come  from  a  distance  of  fifteen  thousand  miles — from 
a  brother  to  a  sister.  Besides,  you  have  surprised  us  suffi 
ciently  once,  already,  in  connection  with  Miss  Merton." 

"  I !"  I  exclaimed. 

«  Me !"  added  Emily, 

"  Yes,  I  and  me ;  did  you  tell  us  one  word  about  her,  in 
your  letters  ?  and  have  you  not  now  both  surprised  and  de 
lighted  us,  by  making  us  acquainted  with  so  charming  a 
person  1  I  can  pardon  such  a  surprise,  on  account  of  its 
consequences ;  but  nothing  so  vulgar  as  a  surprise  about 
pearls." 

Emily  blushed  now ;  and  in  her  it  was  possible  to  tell 
the  difference  between  a  blush  and  the  suffusion  that  arose 
from  a  different  feeling ;  but  she  looked  immensely  superior 
to  anything  like  explanations. 

"  Captain  Wallingford" — how  I  disliked  that  Captain — 
"  Captain  Wallingford  can  have  but  little  knowledge  of 
young  ladies,"  she  said,  coldly,  "if  he  supposes  such  pearls 
as  he  possesses  would  not  form  the  subject  of  their  conver 
sation." 

I  was  coxcomb  enough  to  fancy  Emily  was  vexed  that  I 
had  neglected  to  be  more  particular  about  her  being  on  the 
island,  and  her  connection  with  the  ship.  This  might  have 
been  a  mistake,  however. 

"  Let  us  see  the  pearls,  Miles  j  and  that  will  plead  your 
apology,"  said  Lucy. 

"  There,  then — your  charming  eyes,  young  ladies,  never 
looked  on  pearls  like  those,  before." 

Female  nature  could  not  suppress  the  exclamations  of 
belight  that  succeeded.  Even  Rupert,  who  had  a  besetting 
weakness  on  the  subject  of  all  personal  ornaments,  laid  aside 
his  segar,  and  came  within  the  prescribed  distance,  the  better 
to  admire.  It  was  admitted  all  round,  New  York  had  no 
thing  to  compare  with  them.  I  then  mentioned  that  they 
had  been  fished  up  by  myself  from  the  depths  of  the  sea. 
31* 


366  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  How  much  that  adds  to  their  value !"  said  Lucy,  in  a 
low  voice,  but  in  her  warm,  sincere  manner. 

"  That  was  getting  them  cheap,  was  it  not,  Miss  Walling- 
ford  ?"  inquired  Emily,  with  an  emphasis  I  disliked. 

"  Very ;  though  I  agree  with  Lucy,  it  makes  them  so 
much  the  more  valuable." 

"  If  Miss  Merton  will  forget  my  charge  of  treason,  and 
condescend  to  put  on  the  necklace,  you  will  all  see  it  to 
much  greater  advantage  than  at  present.  If  a  fine  necklace 
embellishes  a  fine  woman,  the  advantage  is  quite  reciprocal. 
I  have  seen  my  pearls  once  already  on  her  neck,  and  know 
the  effect." 

A  wish  of  Grace's  aided  wny  application,  and  Emily 
placed  the  ornaments  around  her  throat.  The  dazzling 
whiteness  of  her  skin  gave  a  lustre  to  the  pearls  that  they 
certainly  did  not  previously  possess.  One  scarcely  knew 
which  to  admire  the  most — the  ornaments,  or  their  setting. 

"  How  very,  very  beautiful  they  are  now  /"  cried  Lucy, 
in  generous  admiration.  "  Oh  !  Miss  Merton,  pearls  should 
ever  be  your  ornaments." 

"  Those  pearls,  you  mean,  Lucy,"  put  in  Rupert,  who 
was  always  extremely  liberal  with  otlrer  people's  means  ; 
"  the  necklace  ought  never  to  be  removed." 

"Miss  Merton  knows  their  destination,"  I  said,  gallantly, 
"  and  the  terms  of  ownership." 

Emily  slowly  undid  the  clasp,  placed  the  string  before 
her  eyes,  and  looked  at  it  long  and  silently. 

"  And  what  is  this  destination,  Miles?  What  these  terms 
of  ownership?"  my  sister  asked. 

"  Of  course  he  means  them  for  you,  dear,"  Lucy  remarked 
in  haste.  "  For  whom  else  can  he  intend  such  an  orna 
ment?" 

"  You  are  mistaken,  Miss  Hardinge.  Grace  must  excuse 
me  for  being  a  little  selfish  this  time,  at  least.  I  do  not  in 
tend  those  pearls  for  Miss  Wallingford,  but  for  Mrs.  Wal- 
lingford,  should  there  ever  be  such  a  person." 

"  Upon  my  word,  such  a  double  temptation,  my  boy,  I 
wonder  Miss  Merton  ever  had  the  fortitude  to  remove  them 
from  the  enviable  position  they  so  lately  occupied,"  cried 
Rupert,  glancing  meaningly  towards  Emily,  who  returned 
the  look  with  a  slight  smile. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  367 

"  Of  course,  Miss  Merton  understood  that  my  remark  was 
ventured  in  pleasantry,''  I  said  stiffly,  "  and  not  in  presump 
tion.  It  was  decided,  however,  when  in  the  Pacific,  that 
these  pearls  ought  to  have  that  destination.  It  is  true,  Claw- 
bonny  is  not  the  Pacific,  and  one  may  be  pardoned  for  seeing 
things  a  little  differently  here,  from  what  they  appeared 
there.  I  have  a  few  more  pearls,  however,  very  inferior  in 
quality  I  confess,  to  those  of  the  necklace  ;  but,  such  as  they 
are,  I  should  esteem  it  a  favour,  ladies,  if  you  would  consent 
to  divide  them  equally  among  you.  They  would  make  three 
very  pretty  rings,  and  as  many  breast-pins." 

I  put  into  Grace's  hands  a  little  box  containing  all  the 
pearls  that  had  not  been  placed  on  the  string.  There  were 
many  fine  ones  among  them,  and  some  of  very  respectable 
size,  though  most  were  of  the  sort  called  seed.  In  the  whole, 
there  were  several  hundreds. 

"  We  will  not  balk  his  generosity,"  said  Grace,  smiling — 
"  so,  Miss  Merton,  we  will  separate  the  pearls  into  three 
parcels,  and  draw  lots  for  them.  Here  are  handsome  orna 
ments  among  them !" 

"  They  will  have  one  value  with  you,  at  least,  Grace,  and 
quite  likely  with  Lucy,  while  they  might  possibly  possess 
another  with  Miss  Merton.  I  fished  up  every  one  of  those 
pearls  with  my  own  hands." 

**  Certainly,  that  will  give  them  value  with  both  Lucy  ana 
me,  dearest  Miles,  as  would  the  simple  fact  that  they  are 
your  gift — but  what  is  to  give  them  their  especial  value  with 
Miss  Merton  ?" 

"  They  may  serve  to  remind  Miss  Merton  of  some  of  her 
hair-breadth  escapes,  of  the  weeks  passed  on  the  island,  and 
of  scenes  that,  a  few  years  hence,  will  probably  possess  the 
colours  of  a  dream,  in  her  recollection." 

"  One  pearl  I  will  take,  with  this  particular  object" — said 
Emily,  with  more  feeling  than  I  had  seen  her  manifest  since 
she  had  got  back  into  the  world,  "  if  Miss  Wallingford  will 
do  me  the  favour  to  select  it." 

"  Let  it  be  enough  for  a  ring,  at  least,"  Grace  returned, 
in  her  own  sweetest  manner.  "  Half  a  dozen  of  the  finest 
of  these  pearls,  of  which  one  shall  be  on  Miles'  account,  and 
five  on  mine." 

"  On  those  conditions,  let  it  then  be  s:.x.    I  have  no  occa 


368  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

sion  for  pearls  to  remind  me  how  much  my  father  and  my 
self  owe  to  Captain  Wallingford." 

"  Come,  Rupert,"  added  Grace ;  "  you  have  a  taste  in 
these  things,  let  us  have  your  aid  in  the  selection." 

Rupert  was  by  no  means  backward  in  complying,  for  h« 
loved  to  be  meddling  in  such  matters. 

"  In  the  first  place,"  he  said,  "  I  shall  at  once  direct  that 
the  number  be  increased  to  seven ;  this  fine  one  in  the  centre, 
and  three  on  each  side,  gradually  diminishing  in  size.  We 
must  look  to  quality,  and  not  to  weight,  for  the  six  puisne 
judges,  as  we  should  call  them  in  the  courts.  The  Chief 
Justice  will  be  a  noble-looking  fellow,  and  tfee  associates 
ought  to  be  of  good  quality  to  keep  his  honour's  company." 

"  Why  do  you  not  call  your  judges  *  my  lords,'  as  we  do 
in  England,  Mr.  Hardinge?"  inquired  Emily,  in  her  prettiest 
manner. 

"  Why,  sure  enough- !  I  wish  with  all  my  heart  we  did, 
and  then  a  man  would  have  something  worth  living  for." 

"  Rupert !"  exclaimed  Lucy,  colouring — "  you  know  it  is 
because  our  government  is  republican,  and  that  we  have  no 
nobles  among  us.  Nor  do  you  say  exactly  what  you  think ; 
you  would  not  be  'my  lord/  if  you  could." 

"  As  I  never  shall  be  a  '  my  lord,'  and  I  am  afraid  never 
a  '  your  honour' — There,  Miss  Merton — there  are  numbers 
two  and  three — observe  how  beautifully  they  are  graduated 
as  to  size." 

"  Well,  *  your  honour,' "  added  Grace,  who  began  to  be  a 
little  uneasy  at  the  manner  Rupert  and  Emily  exhibited  to 
wards  each  other  —  "  well,  '  your  honour,'  what  is  to  come 
next?" 

"  Numbers  four  and  five,  of  course  —  and  here  they  are, 
Miss  Merton ;  as  accurately  diminished,  as  if  done  by  hand. 
A  beautiful  ring  it  will  make  —  I  envy  those  who  will  be 
recalled  to  mind,  by  so  charming  an  object." 

"  You  will  now  be  one  of  those  yourself,  Mr.  Hardinge" — 
observed  Emily,  with  great  tact  —  "  for  you  are  fully  en 
titled  to  it,  by  the  trouble  you  are  giving  yourself,  and  the 
taste  and  judgment  you  possess." 

Lucy  looked  petrified.  She  had  so  long  accustomed  her 
self  to  think  of  Grace  as  her  future  sister,  that  the  open 
admiration  expressed  in  Rupert's  countenance,  which  was 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  369 

too  manifest  to  escape  any  of  us,  first  threw  a  glimmering 
of  light  on  suspicions  of  the  most  painful  nature.  I  had 
long  seen  that  Lucy  understood  her  brother's  character 
better  than  any  of  us — much  better,  indeed,  than  his  simple- 
minded  father ;  and,  as  for  myself,  I  was  prepared  to  expect 
anything  but  consistency  and  principle  in  his  conduct.  Dearly 
as  I  prized  Lucy,  and  by  this  time  the  slight  competition 
that  Emily  Merton  had  presented  to  my  fancy,  had  entirely 
given  way  to  the  dear  creature's  heart,  and  nature, — but, 
dearly  as  I  prized  Lucy,  I  would  greatly  have  preferred  that 
my  sister  should  not  marry  her  brother ;  and,  so  far  from 
feeling  resentment  on  account  of  his  want  of  fidelity,  I  was 
rather  disposed  to  rejoice  at  it.  I  could  appreciate  his  want 
of  merit,  and  his  unfitness  to  be  the  husband  of  such  a 
woman  as  Grace,  even  at  my  early  age ;  but,  alas !  I  could 
not  appreciate  the  effects  of  his  inconstancy  on  a  heart  like 
that  of  my  sister.  Could  I  have  felt  as  easy  on  the  subject 
of  Mr.  Andrew  Drewett,  and  of  my  own  precise  position  in 
society,  I  should  have  cared  very  little,  just  then,  about 
Rupert,  and  his  caprices. 

The  pearls  for  the  ring  were  soon  selected  by  Rupert, 
and  approved  of  by  Grace,  after  which  I  assumed  the  office 
of  dividing  the  remainder  myself.  I  drew  a  chair,  took  the 
box  from  Rupert,  and  set  about  the  task. 

"  I  shall  make  a  faithful  umpire,  girls,"  I  observed,  as 
pearl  after  pearl  was  laid,  first  on  one  spot,  then  on  another 
— "  for  I  feel  no 'preference  between  you — Grace  is  as  Lucy; 
Lucy  is  as  Grace,  with  me." 

"  That  may  be  fortunate,  Miss  Hardinge,  since  it  indicates 
no  preference  of  a  particular  sort,  that  might  require  repress 
ing,"  said  Emily,  smiling  significantly  at  Lucy.  "  When 
gentlemen  treat  young  ladies  as  sisters,  it  is  a  subject  of 
rejoicing.  These  sailors  need  severe  lessons,  to  keep  them 
within  the  rules  of  the  land." 

Why  this  was  said,  I  did  not  understand;  but  Rupert 
laughed  at  it,  as  if  it  were  a  capital  thing.  To  mend  the 
mailer,  he  added,  a  little  boisterously  for  him — 

"  You  see,  Miles,  you  had  better  have  taken  to  the  law— 
the  ladies  cannot  appreciate  the  merits  of  you  tars." 

"  So  it  would  seem,"  I  returned,  a  little  drily,  "  after  all 
Miss  Merton  has  experienced  and  seen  of  the  trade." 


370  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

Emily  made  no  reply,  but  she  regarded  her  pearls  with  a 
steadiness  that  showed  she  was  thinking  more  of  their  effect 
than  that  of  either  her  own  speech  or  mine.  I  continued  to 
divide  the  pearls,  and  soon  had  the  work  complete. 

"  What  am  I  to  do,  now  ?"  —  I  asked  —  "  Will  you  draw 
lots/ girls,  or  will  you  trust  to  my  impartiality?" 

"  We  will  certainly  confide  in  the  last,"  answered  Grace. 
"  The  division  is  so  very  equitable  that  I  do  not  well  see 
how  you  can  defraud  either." 

"  That  being  the  case,  this  parcel  is  for  you,  Lucy ;  and, 
Grace,  that  is  your's." 

Grace  rose,  put  her  arms  affectionately  around  my  neck, 
and  gave  me  one  of  the  hundred  kisses  that  I  had  received, 
first  and  last,  for  presents  of  one  sort  and  another.  The 
deep  attachment  that  beamed  in  her  saint-like  eyes,  would 
of  itself  have  repaid  me  for  fifty  such  gifts.  At  the  moment, 
I  was  almost  on  the  point  of  throwing  her  the  necklace  in 
the  bargain ;  but  some  faint  fancies  about  Mrs.  Miles  Wal- 
lingford  prevented  me  from  so  doing.  As  for  Lucy,  not  a 
little  to  my  surprise,  she  received  the  pearls,  muttered  a  few 
unintelligible  words,  but  di-d  not  even  rise  from  her  chair. 
Emily  seemed  to  tire  of  this,  so  she  caught  up  her  gypsy, 
said  the  evening  was  getting  to  be  delightful,  and  proposed 
a  walk.  Rupert  and  Grace  cheerfully  acquiesced,  and  the 
three  soon  left  the  place,  Lucy  preparing  to  follow,  as  soon 
as  a  maid  could  bring  her  hat,  and  I  excusing  myself  on  the 
score  of  business  in  my  own  room. 

"  Miles"  —  said  Lucy,  as  I  was  about  to  enter  the  house, 
she  herself  standing  on  the  edge  of  the  piazza  on  the  point 
of  following  the  party,  but  holding  towards  me  the  little 
paper  box  in  which  I  had  placed  her  portion  of  the  pearls. 

"  Do  you  wish  me  to  put  them  away  for  you,  Lucy  ?" 

"  No,  Miles — not  for  me — but  for  yourself — for  Grace— 
for  Mrs.  Miles  Wallingford,  if  you  prefer  that." 

This  was  said  without  the  slightest  appearance  of  any 
other  feeling  than  a  gentle  request.  I  was  surprised,  and 
scarce  knew  what  to  make  of  it;  at  first,  I  refused  to  take 
the  box. 

"  I  hope  I  have  done  nothing  to  merit  this,  Lucy  ?"  1 
said,  half-affronted,  half-grieved. 

"  Remember,  Miles,"  the  dear  girl  answered  —  "  wo  are 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  371 

no  longer  children,  but  have  reached  an  age  when  it  is  in 
cumbent  on  us  to  respect  appearances  a  little.  These  pearls 
must  be  worth  a  good  deal  of  money,  and  I  feel  certain  my 
father,  when  he  came  to  think  of  it,  would  scarce  approve 
of  my  receiving  them." 

"  And  this  from  you,  dear  Lucy  !" 

"  This  from  me,  dear  Miles,"  returned  the  precious  girl, 
tears  glistening  in  her  eyes,  though  she  endeavoured  to 
smile.  "  Now,  take  the  box,  and  we  will  be  just  as  good 
friends  as  ever." 

"  Will  you  answer  me  one  question,  as  frankly  and  as 
honestly  as  you  used  to  answer  all  my  questions  ?" 

Lucy  turned  pale  and  she  stood  reflecting  an  instant 
before  s'he  spoke. 

"  I  can  answer  no  question  before  it  is  asked,"  was  at 
length  her  answer. 

"  Have  you  thought  so  little  of  my  presents  as  to  have 
thrown  away  the  locket  I  gave  you,  before  I  sailed  for  the 
North-West  coast  ?" 

"  No,  Miles ;  I  have  kept  the  locket,  and  shall  keep  it  as 
long  as  I  live.  It  was  a  memorial  of  our  childish  regard 
for  each  other ;  and,  in  that  sense,  is  very  dear  to  me.  You 
will  let  me  keep  the  locket,  I  am  sure !" 

"  If  it  were  not  you,  Lucy  Hardinge,  whom  I  know  to 
be  truth  itself,  I  might  be  disposed  to  doubt  you,  so  many 
strange  things  exist,  and  so  much  caprice,  especially  in  at 
tachments,  is  manifested  here,  ashore  !" 

*'  You  need  doubt  nothing  I  tell  you,  Miles  —  on  no  ac 
count  would  I  deceive  you." 

"  That  I  believe — nay,  I  see,  it  is  your  present  object  to 
undeceive  me.  I  do  not  doubt  anything  you  tell  me,  Lucy. 
I  wish  I  could  see  that  locket,  however ;  show  it  to  me,  if 
you  have  it  on  your  person." 

Lucy  made  an  eager  movement,  as  if  about  to  produce 
the  locket ;  then  she  arrested  the  impetuous  indication,  while 
her  cheeks  fairly  burned  with  the  blushes  that  suffused 
them. 

"  I  see  how  it  is,  Lucy — the  thing  is  not  to  be  found.  It 
is  mislaid,  the  Lord  knows  where,  and  you  do  not  like  10 
avow  it." 

The  locket,  at  that  moment,  lay  as  near  the  blessed  crca- 


372  AFLOAT     AND     ASHOKE. 

ture's  heart  as  it  could  be  placed ;  and  her  confusior  pro 
ceeded  from  the  shame  of  letting  that  fact  be  known.  This 
I  could  not  see,  and  consequently  did  not  know.  A  very 
small  and  further  indication  of  feeling  on  my  part,  might 
have  betrayed  the  circumstance ;  but  pride  prevented  it,  and 
I  took  the  still  extended  box,  I  dare  say  in  a  somewhat  dra 
matic  manner.  Lucy  looked  at  me  earnestly  ;  I  saw  it  was 
with  difficulty  that  she  kept  from  bursting  into  tears. 

"  You  are  not  hurt,  Miles  ?"  she  said. 

"  I  should  not  be  frank  if  I  denied  it.  Even  Emily  Mer- 
ton,  you  saw,  consented  to  accept  enough  pearls  for  a  ring." 

"  I  did  perceive  it ;  and  yet,  you  remember,  she  felt  the 
impropriety  of  receiving  such  large  gifts  from  gentlemen. 
Miss  Merton  has  gone  through  so  much,  so  much  in  your 
company,  Miles,  that  no  wonder  she  is  willing  to  retain  some 
little  memorial  of  it  all,  until " 

She  hesitated  ;  but  Lucy  chose  not  to  finish  the  sentence. 
She  had  been  pale  j  but  her  cheeks  were  now  like  the  rose, 
again. 

"  When  Rupert  and  I  first  went  to  sea,  Lucy,  you  gave 
me  your  little  treasure  in  gold — every  farthing  you  had  on 
earth,  I  fancy." 

«'  I  am  glad  I  did,  Miles ;  for  we  were  very  young,  then, 
and  you  had  been  so  kind  to  me,  I  rejoice  I  had  a  little 
gratitude.  But,  we  are  now  in  situations,"  she  added,  smil 
ing  so  sweetly,  as  to  render  it  difficult  for  me  to  refrain  from 
catching  her  in  my  arms,  and  folding  her  to  my  heart ; 
"  that  place  both  of  us  above  the  necessity  of  receiving  aid 
of  this  sort." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  this — though  /  shall  never  part  with 
the  dear  recollection  of  the  half-joes." 

"  Or  I  with  that  of  the  locket.  We  will  retain  these, 
then,  as  keepsakes.  My  dear  Mrs.  Bradfort,  too,  is  very 
particular  about  Rupert  or  myself  receiving  favours  of  this 
sort,  from  any  but  herself.  She  has  adopted  us,  in  a  man 
ner  ;  and  I  owe  to  her  liberality,  the  means  of  making  the 
figure  I  do.  Apart  from  that,  Miles,  we  are  all  as  poor  as 
we  have  ever  been." 

I  wished  Rupert  had  half  his  sister's  self-respect  and  pride 
of  character.  But  he  had  not ;  for  in  spite  of  his  kinswo 
man's  prohibitions,  he  had  not  scrupled  to  spend  nearly 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  373 

three  years  of  the  wages  that  accrued  to  me  as  third-mate 
of  the  Crisis.  For  the  money  I  cared  not  a  stiver  ;  it  was 
a  very  different  thing  as  to  the  feeling. 

As  for  Lucy,  she  hastened  away,  as  soon  as  she  had  in 
duced  me  to  accept  the  box  ;  and  I  had  no  choice  but  to  place 
all  the  pearls  together,  and  put  them  in  Grace's  room,  as 
my  sister  had  desired  me  to  do  with  her  own  property  before 
proceeding  on  her  walk. 

I  determined  I  would  converse  confidentially  with  Grace, 
that  very  evening,  about  the  state  of  affairs  in  general,  and 
if  possible,  learn  the  worst  concerning  Mr.  Andrew  Drewett's 
pretensions.  Shall  I  frankly  own  the  truth  ?  I  was  sorry 
that  Mrs.  Bradfort  had  made  Lucy  so  independent ;  as  it 
seemed  to  increase  the  chasm  that  I  fancied  was  opening 
between  us. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

**  Your  name  abruptly  mentioned,  casual  words 
Of  comment  on  your  deeds,  praise  from  your  uncle, 
News  from  the  armies,  talk  of  your  return, 
A  word  let  fall  touching  your  youthful  passion 
Suffused  her  cheek,  called  to  her  drooping  eye 
A  momentary  lustre." 

HILLHOUSE. 

I  HAD  no  difficulty  in  putting  my  project  of  a  private  in 
terview  with  Grace,  in  execution  in  my  own  house.  There 
was  one  room  at  Clawbonny,  that,  from  time  immemorial, 
had  been  appropriated  exclusively  to  the  use  of  the  heads  of 
the  establishment.  It  was  •  called  the  "  family-room,"  as 
one  would  say  "  family-pictures"  or  "  family-plate."  In 
my  father's  time,  I  could  recollect  that  I  never  dreamed  of 
entering  it,  unless  asked  or  ordered  ;  and  even  then,  I  al 
ways  did  so  with  some  such  feeling  as  I  entered  a  church. 
What  gave  it  a  particular  and  additional  sanctity  in  our 
eyes,  also,  was  the  fact  that  the  Wallingford  dead  were 
always  placed  in  their  coffins,  in  this  room,  and  thence  they 
32 


374  AFLOA.T     AND     ASHORE. 

were  borne  to  their  graves.  It  was  a  very  small  triangular 
room,  with  the  fire-place  in  one  corner,  and  possessing  but 
a  single  window,  that  opened  on  a  thicket  of  rose-bushes, 
ceringos,  and  lilacs.  There  was  also  a  light  external 
fence  around  this  shrubbery,  as  if  purposely  to  keep  listen 
ers  at  a  distance.  The  apartment  had  been  furnished  when 
the  house  was  built,  being  in  the  oldest  part  of  the  structures, 
and  still  retained  its  ancient  inmates.  The  chairs,  tables, 
and,  most  of  the  other  articles,  had  actually  been  brought 
from  England,  by  Miles  the  First,  as  we  used  to  call  the 
emigrant ;  though,  he  was  thus  only  in  reference  to  the 
Clawbonny  dynasty,  having  been  something  like  Miles  the 
Twentieth,  in  the  old  country.  My  mother  had  introduced 
a  small  settee,  or  some  such  seat  as  the  French  would  call 
a  causcuse  ;  a  most  appropriate  article,  in  such  a  place. 

In  preparation  for  the  interview  I  had  slipped  into  Grace's 
hand  a  piece  of  paper,  on  which  was  written  "  meet  me  in 
the  family-room,  precisely  at  six  !"  This  was  sufficient ; 
at  the  hour  named,  I  proceeded  to  the  room,  myself.  The 
house  of  Clawbonny,  in  one  sense,  was  large  for  an  Ameri 
can  residence ;  that  is  to  say,  it  covered  a  great  deal  of 
ground,  every  one  of  the  three  owners  who  preceded  me, 
having  built ;  the  two  last  leaving  entire  the  labours  of  the 
first.  My  turn  had  not  yet  come,  of  course  ;  but  the  reader 
knows  already  that  I,  most  irreverently,  had  once  contem 
plated  abandoning  the  place,  for  a  "  seat"  nearer  the  Hud- 
son.  In  such  a  suite  of  constructions,  sundry  passages 
became  necessary,  and  we  had  several  more  than  was  usual 
at  Clawbonny,  besides  having  as  many  pairs  of  stairs.  In 
consequence  of  this  ample  provision  of  stairs,  the  chambers 
of  the  family  were  totally  separated  from  those  of  all  the 
rest  of  the  house. 

I  began  to  reflect  seriously,  on  what  I  had  to  say,  and 
how  it  was  to  be  said,  as  I  walked  through  the  long  passage 
which  led  to  the  "  family-room,"  or  the  "  triangle,"  as  my 
own  father  had  nicknamed  the  spot.  Grace  and  I  had  neve* 
yet  held  what  might  be  termed  a  family  consultation  ;  I  was 
too  young  to  think  of  such  a  thing,  when  last  at  home,  and 
no  former  occasion  had  offered  since  my  return.  I  was 
still  quite  young,  and  had  more  diffidence  than  might  have 
been  expected  in  a  sailor.  To  me,  it  was  far  more  embar- 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  375 

rassing  to  open  verbal  communications  of  a  delicate  nature, 
than  it  would  have  been  to  work  a  ship  in  action.  But  for 
this  mauvaise  honte,  I  do  think  I  should  have  been  explicit 
with  Lucy,  and  not  have  parted  from  her  on  the  piazza,  as 
I  did,  leaving  everything  in  just  as  much  doubt  as  it  had 
been  before  a  word  passed  between  us.  Then  I  entertained 
a  profound  respect  for  Grace ;  something  more  than  the  ten 
derness  of  a  brother  for  a  sister;  for,  mingled  with  my 
strong  affection  for  her,  was  a  deference,  a  species  of  awe 
of  her  angel-like  character  and  purity,  that  made  me  far 
more  disposed  to  receive  advice  from  her,  than  to  bestow  it. 
In  the  frame  of  mind  which  was  natural  to  all  these 
blended  feelings,  I  laid  my  hand  on  the  old-fashioned  brass 
latch,  by  which  the  door  of  the  "  triangle"  was  closed.  On 
entering  the  room,  I  found  my  sister  seated  on  the  "  cau- 
seuses,"  the  window  open  to  admit  air,  the  room  looking 
snug  but  cheerful,  and  its  occupant's  sweet  countenance  ex 
pressive  of  care,  not  altogether  free  from  curiosity.  The 
last  time  I  had  been  in  that  room,  it  was  to  look  on  the 
pallid  features  of  my  mother's  corpse,  previously  to  closing 
the  coffin.  All  the  recollections  of  that  scene  rushed  upon 
our  minds  at  the  same  instant ;  and  taking  a  place  by  the 
side  of  Grace,  I  put  an  arm  around  her  waist,  drew  her  to 
me,  and,  receiving  her  head  on  my  bosom,  she  wept  like  a 
child.  My  tears  could  not  be  altogether  restrained,  and 
several  minutes  passed  in  profound  silence.  No  explana 
tions  were  naeded  ;  I  knew  what  my  sister  thought  and  felt, 
and  she  was  equally  at  home  as  respects  my  sensations. 
At  length  we  regained  our  self-command,  and  Grace  lifted 
her  head. 

"  You  have  not  been  in  this  room  since,  brother  ?"  she  ob 
served,  half  inquiringly. 

"  I  have  not,  sister.  It  is  now  many  years — many  for 
those  who  are  as  young  as  ourselves." 

"  Miles,  you  will  think  better  about  that  *  seat,'  and  never 
abandon  Clawbonny — never  destroy  this  blessed  room  !" 

"  I  begin  to  think  and  feel  differently  on  the  subject,  from 
what  I  once  did.  If  this  house  were  good  enough  for  our 
forefathers,  why  is  it  not  good  enoujrh  for  me.  It  is  re 
spectable  and  comfortable,  and  what  more  do  I  want? 

"  And  so  warm  in  winter,  and  so  cool  in  summer ;  with 


376  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

good  thick  stone  walls ;  while  everything  they  build  now  is 
a  shingle  palace  !  Besides,  you  can  add  your  portion,  and 
each  addition  has  already  been  a  good  deal  modernized.  It 
is  so  pleasant  to  have  a  house  that  partakes  of  the  usages 
of  different  periods !" 

"  I  hardly  think  I  shall  ever  abandon  Clawbonny,  my 
dear ;  for  I  find  it  growing  more  and  more  precious  as  other 
ties  and  expectations  fail  me." 

Grace  drew  herself  entirely  from  my  arms,  and  looked 
intently,  and,  as  I  fancied,  anxiously  at  me,  from  the  other 
coiner  of  the  settee.  Then  she  affectionately  took  one  of 
my  hands,  in  both  her  own,  and  pressed  it  gently. 

"  You  are  young  to  speak  of  such  things,  my  dear  bro 
ther,"  she  said  with  a  tone  and  air  of  sadness,  I  had  never 
yet  remarked  in  her  voice  and  manner ;  "  much  too  young 
for  a  man ;  though  I  fear  we  women  are  born  to  know  sor 
row !" 

I  could  not  speak  if  I  would,  for  I  fancied  Grace  was 
about  to  make  some  communications  concerning  Rupert. 
Notwithstanding  the  strong  affection  that  existed  between 
my  sister  and  myself,  not  a  syllable  had  ever  been  uttered 
by  either,  that  bore  directly  on  our  respective  relations  with 
Rupert  and  Lucy  Hardinge.  I  had  long  been  certain  that 
Rupert,  who  was  never  backward  in  professions,  had  years 
before  spoken  explicitly  to  Grace,  and  I  made  no  doubt  they 
were  engaged,  though  probably  subject  to  some  such  condi 
tions  as  the  approval  of  his  father  and  mysejf ;  approvals, 
that  neither  had  any  reason  for  supposing  would  be  with 
held.  Still,  Grace  had  never  intimated  anything  of  the  sort, 
and  my  conclusions  were  drawn  from  conjectures  founded 
as  I  imagined  on  sufficient  observation.  On  the  other  hand, 
I  had  never  spoken  to  Grace,  of  my  love  for  Lucy.  Until 
within  the  last  month,  indeed,  when  jealousy  and  distrust 
came  to  quicken  the  sentiment,  I  was  unconscious  myself 
with  how  much  passion  I  did  actually  love  the  dear  girl ; 
for,  previously  to  that,  my  affection  had  seemed  so  much  a 
matter  of  course,  was  united  with  so  much  that  was  frater 
nal,  in  appearance  at  least,  that  I  had  never  been  induced  to 
enter  into  an  inquiry  as  to  the  nature  of  this  regard.  We 
were  both,  therefore,  touching  on  hallowed  spots  in  our 
hearts,  and  each  fek  averse  to  laying  bare  the  weakness. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE,  377 

Oh  !  you  know  how  it  is  with  life,  Grace,"  I  answered, 
with  affected  carelessness,  after  a  moment's  silence  ;  "  now 
all  sun-shine,  and  now  all  clouds  — I  shall  probably  never 
marry,  my  dear  sister,  and  you,  or  your  children,  will 
inherit  Clawbonny  ;  then  you  can  do  as  you  please  with  the 
house.  As  a  memorial  of  myself,  however,  I  will  leave 
orders  for  stone  to  be  got  out  this  fall,  and,  next  year,  I  will 
put  up  the  south  wing,  of  which  we  have  so  much  talked, 
and  add  three  or  four  rooms  in  which  one  will  not  be  asham 
ed  to  see  his  friends." 

"  I  hope  your  are  ashamed  of  nothing  that  is  at  Claw- 
bonny,  now,  Miles — as  for  your  marrying,  my  dear  brother, 
that  remains  to  be  seen;  young  men  do  not  often  know 
their  own  minds  on  such  a  subject,  at  your  age." 

This  was  said,  not  altogether  without  pleasantry,  though 
there  was  a  shade  of  sadness  in  the  countenance  of  the  be 
loved  speaker,  that  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  I  wished 
were  not  there.  I  believe  Grace  understood  my  concern, 
and  that  she  shrunk  with  virgin  sensitiveness  from  touching 
further  on  the  subject,  for  she  soon  added — 

"  Enough  of  this  desponding  talk.  Why  have  you  par 
ticularly  desired  to  see  me,  here,  Miles  ?" 

"  Why  1  Oh  !  you  know  I  am  to  sail  next  week,  and  we 
have  never  been  here — and,  now  we  are  both  of  an  age  to 
communicate  our  thoughts  to  each  other — I  supposed — that 
is — there  must  be  a  beginning  of  all  things,  and  it  is  as  well 
to  commence  now,  as  any  other  time.  You  do  not  seem 
more  than  half  a  sister,  in  the  company  of  strangers  like  the 
Mertons,  and  Hardinges !" 

"  Strangers,  Miles !  How  long  have  you  regarded  the 
last  as  strangers  7" 

"  Certainly  not  strangers  in  the  way  of  acquaintance,  but 
strangers  to  our  blood.  There  is  not  the  least  connection 
between  us  and  them." 

"No,  but  much  love;  and  love  that  has  lasted  from 
childhood.  I  cannot  remember  the  time  when  .  have  not 
loved  Lucy  Hardinge." 

"  Quite  true — nor  I.     Lucy  is  an  excellent  girl,  and  one 
is  almost  certain  of  always  retaining  a  strong  regard  for  her. 
How  singularly  the  prospects  of  the  Hardinges  are  changed 
by  this  sudden  likuig  of  Mrs.  Bradfort !" 
32* 


378  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  It  is  not  sudden,  Miles.  You  have  been  absent  years, 
and  forget  how  much  time  there  has  been  to  become  inti 
mate  and  attached.  Mr.  Hardinge  and  Mrs.  Bradfort  are 
sister's  children ;  and  the  fortune  of  the  last,  which,  I  am 
told,  exceeds  six  thousand  a-year,  in  improving  real  estate 
in  town,  besides  the  excellent  and  valuable  house  in  which 
she  lives,  came  from  their  common  grandfather,  who  cut  oft' 
Mrs.  Hardinge  with  a  small  legacy,  because  she  married  a 
clergyman.  Mr.  Hardinge  is  Mrs.  Bradfort's  heir-at-law, 
and  it  is  by  no  means  unnatural  that  she  should  think  of 
leaving  the  property  to  those  who,  in  one  sense,  have  as 
good  a  right  to  it  as  she  has  herself." 

"  And  is  it  supposed  she  will  leave  Rupert  her  heir  ?" 

"  I  believe  it  is — at  least — I  think — I  am  afraid — Rupert 
himself  imagines  it;  though  doubtless  Lucy  will  come  in 
for  a  fair  share.  The  affection  of  Mrs.  Bradfort  for -Lucy 
is  very  strong — so  strong,  indeed,  that  she  offered,  last  win 
ter,  openly  to  adopt  her,  and  to  keep  her  with  her  constantly. 
You  know  how  true  and  warm-hearted  a  girl  Lucy  is,  and 
how  easy  it  is  to  love  her." 

"  This  is  all  new  to  me — why  was  not  the  offer  ac 
cepted  ?" 

"  Neither  Mr.  Hardinge  nor  Lucy  would  listen  to  it.  I 
was  present  at  the  interview  in  which  it  was  discussed,  and 
our  excellent  guardian  thanked  his  cousin  for  her  kind  in 
tentions  ;  but,  in  his  simple  way,  he  declared,  as  long  as  life 
was  spared  him,  he  felt  it  a  duty  to  keep  his  girl ;  or,  at 
least,  until  he  committed  her  to  the  custody  of  a  husband,  or 
death  should  part  them." 

"  And  Lucy  ?" 

"  She  is  much  attached  to  Mrs.  Bradfort,  who  is  a  good 
woman  in  the  main,  though  she  has  her  weaknesses  about 
the  world,  and  society,  and  such  things.  Lucy  wept  in  her 
cousin's  arms,  but  declared  she  never  could  leave  her  father. 
I  suppose  you  do  not  expect,"  added  Grace,  smiling,  "  that 
she  had  anything  to  say  about  a  husband." 

"  And  how  did  Mrs.  Bradfort  receive  this  joint  declara 
tion  of  resistance  to  her  pleasure,  backed,  as  the  last  was, 
by  dollars!" 

"  Perfectly  well.  The  affair  terminated  by  Mr.  Hardinge's 
consenting  to  Lucy's  passing  each  winter  ui  town,  until  she 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  379 

marry.  Rupert,  you  know,  lives  there  as  a  student  at  law» 
at  present,  and  will  become  established  there,  when  admitted 
to  the  bar." 

"  And  I  suppose  the  knowledge  that  Lucy  is  likely  to 
inherit  some  of  the  old  Bleecker  estate,  has  not  in  the  least 
diminished  her  chance  of  finding  a  husband  to  remove  her 
from  the  paternal  custody  of  her  father  ?" 

"  No  husband  could  ever  make  Lucy  anything  but  Mr. 
Hardinge's  daughter;  but  you  are  right,  Miles,  in  supposing 
that  she  has  been  sought.  I  am  not  in  her  secrets,  for  Lucy 
is  a  girl  of  too  much  principle  to  make  a  parade  of  her  con 
quests,  even  under  the  pretence  of  communicating  them  to 
her  dearest  friend — and  in  that  light,  beyond  all  question, 
does  she  regard  me ;  but  I  feel  as  morally  certain  as  one 
can  be,  without  actually  knowing  the  facts,  that  Lucy  re 
fused  one  gentleman,  winter  before  last,  and  three  last 
winter." 

"Was  Mr.  Andrew  Drewett  of  the  number?"  I  asked, 
with  a  precipitation  of  which  I  was  immediately  ashamed. 

Grace  started  a  little  at  the  vivacity  of  my  manner,  and 
then  she  smiled,  though  I  still  thought  sadly. 

"  Of  course  not,"  she  answered,  after  a  moment's  thought, 
"  or  he  would  not  still  be  in  attendance.  Lucy  is  too  frank 
to  leave  an  admirer  in  doubt  an  instant  after  his  declaration 
is  made,  and  her  own  mind  made  up ;  and  not  one  of  all 
those  who,  I  am  persuaded,  have  offered,  has  ever  ventured 
to  continue  more  than  a  distant  acquaintance.  As  Mr. 
Drewett  never  has  been  more  assiduous  than  down  to  the 
last  moment  of  our  remaining  in  town,  it  is  impossible  ho 
should  have  been  rejected.  I  suppose  you  know  Mr.  Har- 
din^c  has  invited  him  here  ?" 

'-  Here  1  Andrew  Drewett  ?  And  why  is  he  coming  here  ?" 

;'  I  heard  him  ask  Mr.  Hardinge's  permission  to  visit  us 
here ;  and  you  know  how  it  is  with  our  dear,  good  guardian 
— the  milk  of  human  kindness  himself,  and  so  perfectly 
guileless  that  he  never  sees  more  than  is  said  in  such  mat 
ters,  it  was  impossible  he  could  refuse.  Besides,  he  likes 
Drewett,  who,  apart  from  some  fashionable  follies,  is  both 
clever  and  respectable.  Mr.  Drewett  has  a  sister  married 
into  one  of  the  best  families  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
and  is  in  the  habit  of  coming  into  the  neighbourhood  every 


380  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

summer ;  doubtless  he  will  cross  from  his  sister's  house  to 
Clawbonny." 

I  felt  indignant  for  just  one  minute,  and  then  reason 
resumed  its  sway.  Mr.  Hardinge,  in  the  first  place,  had  the 
written  authority,  or  request,  of  my  mother  that  he  would 
invite  whom  he  pleased,  during  my  minority,  to  the  house ; 
and,  on  that  score,  I  felt  no  disapprobation.  But  it  seemed 
so  much  like  braving  my  own  passion,  to  ask  an  open  ad 
mirer  of  Lucy's  to  my  own  house,  that  I  was  very  near 
saying  something  silly.  Luckily  I  did  not,  and  Grace  never 
knew  what  I  suffered  at  this  discovery.  Lucy  had  refused 
several  offers — that  was  something ;  and  I  was  dying  to 
know  what  sort  of  offers  they  were.  I  thought  I  might  at 
least  venture  to  ask  that  question. 

"  Did  you  know  the  four  gentlemen  that  you  suppose 
Lucy  to  have  refused  ?"  said  I,  with  as  indifferent  an  air  as 
I  could  assume,  affecting  to  destroy  a  cobweb  with  my  rat 
tan,  and  even  carrying  my  acting  so  far  as  to  make  an 
attempt  at  a  low  whistle. 

"  Certainly  ;  how  else  should  I  know  anything  about  it  ? 
Lucy  has  never  said  a  word  to  me  on  the  subject ;  and, 
though  Mrs.  Bradfort  and  I  have  had  our  pleasantries  on 
the  subject,  neither  of  us  is  in  Lucy's  secrets." 

"  Ay,  your  pleasantries  on  the  subject !  That  I  dare  say. 
There  is  no  better  fun  to  a  woman  than  to  see  a  man  make 
a  fool  of  himself  in  this  way  ;  little  does  she  care  how  much 
a  poor  fellow  suffers  !" 

Grace  turned  pale,  and  I  couW  see  that  her  sweet  coun 
tenance  became  thoughtful  and  repentant. 

"  Perhaps  there  is  truth  in  your  remark,  and  justice  in 
your  reproach,  Miles.  None  of  us  treat  this  subject  with  as 
much  seriousness  as  it  deserves,  though  I  cannot  suppose 
any  woman  can  reject  a  man  whom  she  believes  to  be 
seriously  attached  to  her,  without  feeling  for  him.  Still, 
attachments  of  this  nature  affect  your  sex  less  than  ours, 
and  I  believe  few  men  die  of  love.  Lucy,  moreover,  never 
has,  and  I  believe  never  would  encourage  any  man  whom 
she  did  not  like ;  this  principle  must  have  prevented  any  of 
that  intimate  connection,  without  which  the  heart  never  can 
get  much  interested.  The  passion  that  is  produced  without 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  381 

any  exchange  of  sentiment  or  feeling,  Miles,  cannot  be  much 
more  than  imagination  or  caprice." 

"  I  suppose  those  four  chaps  are  all  famously  cured,  by 
this  time,  then  ?"  said  I,  pretending  again  to  whistle. 

"  I  cannot  answer  for  that — it  is  so  easy  to  love  Lucy, 
and  to  love  her  warmly.  I  only  know  they  visit  her  no 
longer,  and,  when  they  meet  her  in  society,  behave  just  as 
I  think  a  rejected  admirer  would  behave,  when  he  has  not 
lost  his  respect  for  his  late  flame.  Mrs.  Bradfort's  fortune 
and  position  may  have  had  their  influence  on  two ;  but  the 
others  I  think  were  quite  sincere." 

"  Mrs.  Bradfort  is  quite  in  a  high  set,  Grace — altogether 
above  what  we  have  been  accustomed  to  ?" 

My  sister  coloured  a  little,  and  I  could  see  she  was  not 
at  her  ease.  Still,  Grace  had  too  much  self-respect,  and  too 
much  character,  ever  to  feel  an  oppressive  inferiority,  where 
it  did  not  exist  in  essentials ;  and  she  had  never  been  made 
to  suffer,  as  the  more  frivolous  and  vain  often  suffer,  by 
communications  with  a  class  superior  to  their  own ;  espe 
cially  when  that  class,  as  always  happens,  contains  those 
who,  having  nothing  else  to  be  proud  of,  take  care  to  make 
others  feel  their  inferiority. 

"  This  is  true,  Miles,"  she  answered  ;  "  or  I  might  better 
say,  both  are  true.  Certainly  I  never  have  seen  as  many 
well-bred  persons  as  I  meet  in  her  circle — indeed,  we  have 
little  around  us  at  Clawbonny  to  teach  us  any  distinctions  in 
such  tastes.  Mr.  Hardinge,  simple  as  he  is,  is  so  truly  a 
gentleman,  that  he  has  not  left  us  altogether  in  the  dark  as 
to  what  was  expected  of  us ;  and  I  fancy  the  higher  people 
truly  are  in  the  world,  the  less  they  lay  stress  on  anything 
but  what  is  substantial,  in  these  matters." 

"  And  Lucy's  admirers — and  Lucy  herself " 

"  How,  Lucy  herself?" 

"  Was  she  well  received — courted — admired  ?  Met  as  an 
equal,  and  treated  as  an  equal  ?  And  you,  too  ?" 

"  Had  you  lived  more  in  the  world,  Miles,  you  would  not 
have  asked  the  question.  But  Lucy  has  been  always  re 
ceived  as  Mrs.  Bradfort's  daughter  would  have  been  received ; 
and  as  for  myself,  I  have  never  supposed  it  was  not  known 
exactly  who  I  am." 

"  Captain  Miles  Wallingford's   daughter,  and   Captain 


382  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

Miles  Wallingford's  sister,"  said  I,  with  a  little  bitterness  on 
each  emphasis. 

"  Precisely ;  and  a  girl  proud  of  her  connections  with 
both,"  rejoined  Grace,  with  strong  affection. 

"  I  wish  I  knew  one  thing,  Grace ;  and  I  think  I  ought  to 
know  it,  too." 

"  If  you  can  make  the  last  appear,  Miles,  you  may  rest 
assured  you  shall  know  it,  if  it  depend  on  me." 

"  Did  any  of  these  gentry  —  these  soft-handed  fellows  — 
ever-  think  of  offering  to  you  ?" 

Grace  laughed,  and  she  coloured  so  deeply  —  oh !  how 
heavenly  was  her  beauty,  with  that  roseate  tint  on  her 
check  ! — but  she  coloured  so  deeply,  that  I  felt  satisfied  that 
she,  too,  had  refused  her  suitors.  The  thought  appeased 
some  of  my  bitter  feelings,  and  I  had  a  sort  of  semi-savage 
pleasure  in  believing  that  a  daughter  of  Clawbonny  was  not 
to  be  had  for  the  asking,  by  one  of  that  set.  The  only 
answers  I  got  were  these  disclosures  by  blushes. 

"  What  are  the  fortune  and  position  of  this  Mr.  Drewett, 
since  you  are  resolved  to  tel4  me  nothing  of  your  own 
affairs?" 

"  Both  are  good,  and  such  as  no  young  lady  can  object 
to.  He  is  even  said  to  be  rich." 

"  Thank  God  !  He  then  is  not  seeking  Lucy  in  the  hope 
of  getting  some  of  Mrs.  Bradfort's  money  ?" 

"  Not  in  the  least.  It  is  so  easy  to  love  Lucy,  for  Lucy's 
sake,  that  even  a  fortune-hunter  would  be  in  danger  of  being 
caught  in  his  own  trap.  But  Mr.  Drewett  is  above  the  ne 
cessity  of  practising  so  vile  a  scheme  for  making  money." 

Here,  that  the  present  generation  may  not  be  misled,  and 
imagine  fortune-hunting  has  come  in  altogether  within  the 
last  twenty  years,  I  will  add  that  it  was  not  exactly  a 
trade,  in  this  country — a  regular  occupation — in  1802,  as 
it  has  become,  in  1844.  There  were  such  things  then,  cer 
tainly,  as  men,  or  women,  who  were  ready  to  marry  any 
body  who  would  make  them  rich ;  but  I  do  not  think  theirs 
was  a  calling  to  which  either  sex  served  regular  apprentice 
ships,  as  is  practised  to-day.  Still,  the  business  was  car 
ried  on,  to  speak  in  the  vernacular,  and  sometimes  with 
marked  success. 

"  You  have  not  told  me,  Grace,"  I  resumed,  "  whether 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  383 

you  think  Lucy  u>  pleased,  or  not,  with  the  attentions  of 
this  gentleman." 

My  sister  looked  at  me  intently,  for  a  moment,  as  if  to 
ascertain  how  far  I  could,  or  could  not,  ask  such  a  question 
with  indifference.  It  will  be  remembered  that  no  verbal 
explanations  had  ever  taken  place  between  us,  on  the  sub 
ject  of  our  feelings  towards  the  companions  of  our  child 
hood,  and  that  all  that  was  known  to  either  was  obtained 
purely  by  inference.  Between  myself  and  Lucy  nothing 
had  ever  passed,  indeed,  which  might  not  have  been  honestly 
referred  to  our  long  and  early  association,  so  far  as  the  rules 
of  intercourse  were  concerned,  though  I  sometimes  fancied 
I  could  recall  a  hundred  occasions,  on  which  Lucy  had  for 
merly  manifested  deep  attachment  for  myself;  nor  did  I 
doubt  her  being  able  to  show  similar  proofs,  by  reversing 
the  picture.  This,  however,  was,  or  I  had  thought  it  to  be, 
merely  the  language  of  the  heart ;  the  tongue  having  never 
spoken.  Of  course,  Grace  had  nothing  but  conjecture  en 
this  subject,  and  alas !  she  had  begun  to  see  how  possible  it 
was  for  those  who  lived  near  each  other  to  change  their 
views  on  such  subjects ;  no  wonder,  then,  if  she  fancied  it 
still  easier  for  those  who  had  been  separated  for  years. 

"  I  have  not  told  you,  Miles,"  Grace  answered,  after  a 
brief  delay,  "  because  it  would  not  be  proper  to  communi 
cate  the  secrets  of  my  friend  to  a  young  man,  even  to  you, 
were  it  in  my  power,  as  it  is  not,  since  Lucy  never  has 
made  to  me  the  slightest  confidential  communication,  of  any 
sort  or  nature,  touching  love." 

"  Never !"  I  exclaimed — reading  my  fancied  doom  in  the 
startling  fact ;  for  I  conceived  it  impossible,  had  she  ever 
really  loved  me.  that  the  matter  should  not  have  come  up  in 
conversation  between  two  so  closely  united  —  "  Never  ! 
What,  no  girlish — no  childish  preference — have  you  never 
had  no  mutual  preferences  to  reveal  ?" 

"Never"  —  answered  Grace,  firmly,  though  her  very 
temples  seemed  illuminated — "  Never.  We  have  been  satis 
fied  with  each  other's  affection,  and  have  had  no  occasion 
to  enter  into  any  unfeminine  and  improper  secrets,  if  any 
such  existed." 

A  long,  and  I  doubt  not  a  mutually  painful  pause  suc 
ceeded. 


384  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  Grace,"  said  I,  at  length —  "  I  am  not  envious  of  this 
probable  accession  of  fortune  to  the  Hardinges,  but  I  think 
we  should  all  have  been  much  more  united — much  happiei 
— without  iL" 

My  sister's  colour  left  her  face,  she  trembled  all  over,  and 
she  became  pale  as  death. 

"  You  may  be  right,  in  some  respects,  Miles,"  she  an 
swered,  after  a  time.  "And,  yet,  it  is  hardly  generous 
to  think  so.  Why  should  we  wish  to  see  our  oldest 
friends ;  those  who  are  so  very  dear  to  us,  our  excellent 
guardian's  children,  less  well  off  than  we  are  ourselves? 
No  doubt,  no  doubt,  it  may  seem  better  to  us,  that  Claw- 
bonny  should  be  the  castle  and  we  its  possessors  ;  but  others 
have  their  rights  and  interests  as  well  as  ourselves.  Give 
the  Hardinges  money,  and  they  will  enjoy  every  advantage 
known  in  this  country — more  than  money  can  possibly  give 
us — why,  then,  ought  we  to  be  so  selfish  as  to  wish  them 
deprived  of  this  advantage?  Place  Lucy  where  you  will, 
she  will  always  be  Lucy  ;  and,  as  for  Rupert,  so  brilliant  a 
young  man  needs  only  an  opportunity,  to  rise  to  anything 
the  country  possesses !" 

Grace  was  so  earnest,  spoke  with  so  much  feeling,  ap 
peared  so  disinterested,  so  holy  I  had  almost  said,  that  I 
could  not  find,  in  my  heart,  the  courage  to  try  her  any  far- 
ther.  That  she  began  to  distrust  Rupert,  I  plainly  saw, 
though  it  was  merely  with  the  glimmerings  of  doubt.  A 
nature  as  pure  as  her's,  and  a  heart  so  true,  admitted  with 
great  reluctance,  the  proofs  of  the  un  worthiness  of  one  so  long 
loved.  It  was  evident,  moreover,  that  she  shrunk  from  re 
vealing  her  own  great  secret,  while  she  had  only  conjectures 
to  offer  in  regard  to  Lucy ;  and  even  these  she  withheld,  as 
due  to  her  sex,  and  the  obligations  of  friendship.  I  forgot 
that  I  had  not  been  ingenuous  myself,  and  that  I  made  no 
communication  to  justify  any  confidence  on  the  part  of  my 
sister.  That  which  would  have  been  treachery  in  her  to 
say,  under  this  state  of  the  case,  might  have  been  uttered 
with  greater  frankness  on  my  own  part.  After  a  pause,  to 
allow  my  sister  to  recover  from  her  agitation,  I  turned  the 
discourse  to  our  own  more  immediate  family  interests,  and 
soon  got  off  the  painful  subject  altogether. 

"  I  shall  be  of  age,  Grace."  I  said,  in  the  course  of  my 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  385 

explanations,  "  before  you  see  me  again.  We  sailors  are 
always  exposed  to  more  chances  and  hazards  than  people 
ashore ;  and,  I  now  tell  you,  should  anything  happen  to  me, 
my  will  may  be  found  in  my  secretary ;  signed  and  sealed, 
the  day  I  attain  my  majority.  I  have  given  orders  to  have 
it  drawn  up  by  a  lawyer  of  eminence,  and  shall  take  it  to 
sea  with  me,  for  that  very  purpose." 

"  From  which  I  am  to  infer  that  I  must  not  covet  Claw- 
bonny,"  answered  Grace,  with  a  smile  that  denoted  how 
little  she  cared  for  the  fact—"  You  give  it  to  our  cousin,  Jack 
Wallingfbrd,  as  a  male  heir,  worthy  of  enjoying  the  honour." 

"  No,  dearest,  I  give  it  to  you.  It  is  true,  the  law  would 
do  this  for  me ;  but  I  choose  to  let  it  be  known  that  I  wish 
it  to  be  so.  I  am  aware  my  father  made  that  disposition  of 
the  place,  should  I  die  childless,  before  I  became  of  age ; 
but,  once  of  age,  the  place  is  all  mine ;  and  that  which  is  all 
mine,  shall  be  all  thine,  after  I  am  no  more." 

"  This  is  melancholy  conversation,  and,  I  trust,  useless. 
Under  the  circumstances  you  mention,  Miles,  I  never  should 
have  expected  Clawbonny,  nor  do  I  know  I  ought  to  pos 
sess  it.  It  comes  as  much  from  Jack  Wallingford's  ances 
tors,  as  from  our  own  ;  and  it  is  better  it  should  remain  with 
the  name.  I  will  not  promise  you,  therefore,  I  will  not  give 
it  to  him,  the  instant  I  can." 

This  Jack  Wallingford,  of  whom  I  have  not  yet  spoken, 
was  a  man  of  five-and- forty,  and  a  bachelor.  He  was  a 
cousin-german  of  my  father's,  being  the  son  of  a  younger 
brother  of  my  grandfather's,  and  somewhat  of  a  favourite. 
He  had  gone  into  what  was  called  the  new  countries,  in  that 
day,  or  a  few  miles  west  of  Cayuga  Bridge,  which  put  him 
into  Western  New  York.  I  had  never  seen  him  but  once, 
and  that  was  on  a  visit  he  paid  us  on  his  return  from  selling 
quantities  of  pot  and  pearl  ashes  in  town ;  articles  made  on 
his  new  lands.  He  was  said  to  be  a  prosperous  man,  and 
to  stand  little  in  need  of  the  old  paternal  property. 

After  a  little  more  conversation  on  the  subject  of  my  will, 
Grace  and  I  separated,  each  more  closely  bound  to  the 
other,  I  firmly  believed,  for  this  dialogue  in  the  "  family- 
room."  Never  had  my  sister  seemed  more  worthy  of  all 
my  love ;  and,  certain  I  am,  never  did  she  possess  more  of 
33 


386  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

it.  Of  Clawbonny  she  was  as  sure,  as  my  power  over  it 
could  make  her. 

The  remainder  of  the  week  passed  as  weeks  are  apt  to 
pass  in  the  country,  and  in  summer.  Feeling  myself  so 
often  uncomfortable  in  the  society  of  the  girls,  I  was  much 
in  the  fields ;  always  possessing  the  good  excuse  of  begin 
ning  to  look  after  my  own  affairs.  Mr.  Hardinge  took 
charge  of  the  Major,  an  intimacy  beginning  to  spring  up  be 
tween  these  two  respectable  old  men.  There  were,  indeed, 
so  many  points  of  common  feeling,  that  such  a  result  was 
not  at  all  surprising.  They  both  loved  the  church — I  beg 
pardon,  the  Holy  Catholic  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 
They  both  disliked  Bonaparte — the  Major  hated  him,  but 
my  guardian  hated  nobody — both  venerated  Billy  Pitt,  and 
both  fancied  the  French  Revolution  was  merely  the  fulfil 
ment  of  prophecy,  through  the  agency  of  the  devils.  As  we 
are  now  touching  upon  times  likely  to  produce  important 
results,  let  me  not  be  misunderstood.  As  an  old  man,  aim 
ing,  in  a  new  sphere,  to  keep  enlightened  the  generation  that 
is  coming  into  active  life,  it  may  be  necessary  to  explain. 
An  attempt  has  been  made  to  induce  the  country  to  think 
that  Episcopalian  and  tory  were  something  like  synonymous 
terms,  in  the  "  times  that  tried  men's  souls."  This  is  suffi 
ciently  impudent,  per  se,  in  a  country  that  possessed  Wash 
ington,  Jay,  Hamilton,  the  Lees,  the  Morrises,  the  late 
Bishop  White,  and  so  many  other  distinguished  patriots  of 
the  Southern  and  Middle  States ;  but  men  are  not  particu 
larly  scrupulous  when  there  is  an  object  to  be  obtained,  even 
though  it  be  pretended  that  Heaven  is  an  incident  of  that 
object.  I  shall,  therefore,  confine  my  explanations  to  what 
I  have  said  about  Billy  Pitt  and  the  French. 

The  youth  of  this  day  may  deem  it  suspicious  that  an 
Episcopal  divine  —  Protestant  Episcopal,  I  mean  ;  but  it  is 
so  hard  to  get  the  use  of  new  terms  as  applied  to  old 
thoughts,  in  the  decline  of  life !  —  may  deem  it  suspicious 
that  a  Protestant  Episcopal  divine  should  care  anything 
about  Billy  Pitt,  or  execrate  Infidel  France ;  I  will,  there 
fore,  just  intimate  that,  in  1802,  no  portion  of  the  country 
dipped  more  deeply  into  similar  sentiments  than  the  de 
scendants  of  those  who  first  put  foot  on  the  rock  of  Ply 
mouth,  and  whose  progenitors  had  just  before  paid  a  visit  to 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  S87 

Geneva,  where,  it  is  "  said  or  sung,"  they  had  found  a 
"  church  without  a  bishop,  and  a  state  without  a  king."  In 
a  word,  admiration  of  Mr.  Pitt,  and  execration  ot  Bonaparte, 
were  by  no  means  such  novelties  in  America,  in  that  day, 
as  to  excite  wonder.  For  myself,  however,  I  can  truly  say, 
that,  like  most  Americans  who  went  abroad  in  those  stirring 
times,  I  was  ready  to  say  with  Mercutio,  "  a  plague  on  both 
your  houses ;"  for  neither  was  even  moderately  honest,  or 
even  decently  respectful  to  ourselves.  Party  feeling,  how- 
ever,  the  most  inexorable,  and  the  most  unprincipled,  of  all 
tyrants,  and  the  bane  of  American  liberty,  notwithstanding 
all  our  boasting,  decreed  otherwise  ;  and,  while  one  half  the 
American  republic  was  shouting  hosannas  to  the  Great  Cor- 
sican,  the  otV  ?r  half  was  ready  to  hail  Pitt  as  the  "  Heaven- 
born  Minister."  The  remainder  of  the  nation  felt  and  acted 
as  Americans  should.  It  was  my  own  private  opinion,  that 
France  and  England  would  have  been  far  better  off,  had 
neither  of  these  worthies  ever  had  a  being. 

Nevertheless,  the  union  of  opinion  between  the  divine  and 
the  Major,  was  a  great  bond  of  union,  in  friendship.  I  saw 
they  were  getting  on  well  together,  and  let  things  take  their 
course.  As  for  Emily,  I  cared  very  little  about  her,  except 
as  she  might  prove  to  be  connected  with  Rupert,  and  through 
Rupert,  with  the  happiness  of  my  sister.  As  for  Rupert, 
himself,  I  could  not  get  entirely  weaned  from  one  whom  I 
had  so  much  loved  in  boyhood ;  and  who,  moreover,  pos 
sessed  the  rare  advantage  of  being  Lucy's  brother,  and  Mr. 
Hardinge's  son.  "  Sidney's  sister,  Pembroke's  mother," 
gave  him  a  value  in  my  eyes,  that  he  had  long  ceased  to 
possess  on  his  own  account. 

"  You  see,  Neb,"  I  said,  towards  the  end  of  the  week,  as 
the  black  and  I  were  walking  up  from  the  mill  in  company, 
'Mr.  Rupert  has  altogether  forgotten  that  he  ever  knew  the 
name  of  a  rope  in  a  ship.  His  hands  are  as  white  as  a 
young  lady's  !" 

"  Nebber  mind  dat,  Masser  Mile.  Masser  Rupert  nebber 
feel  a  saterfaction  to  be  wracked  away,  or  to  be  prisoner  to 
Injin  !  Golly  !  No  gentleum  to  be  envy,  sir,  'em  doesn't 
enjoy  dat  /" 

"  You  have  a  queer  taste,  Neb,  from  all  which  I  conclude 


388  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

you  expect  to  return  to  town  with  me,  in  the  Wallingford, 
this  evening,  and  to  go  out  in  the  Dawn  ?" 

"  Sartain,  Masser  Mile.  How  you  t'ink  of  goin'  to  sea 
and  leave  nigger  at  home  ?" 

Here  Neb  raised  such  a  laugh  that  he  might  have  been 
heard  a  hundred  rods,  seeming  to  fancy  the  idea  he  had  sug 
gested  was  so  preposterous  as  to  merit  nothing  but  ridicule. 

"  Well,  Neb,  I  consent  to  your  wishes ;  but  this  will  be 
the  last  voyage  in  which  you  will  have  to  consult  me  on  the 
subject,  as  I  shall  make  out  your  freedom  papers,  the  mo 
ment  I  am  of  age." 

"  What  dem  ?"  demanded  the  black,  quick  as  lightning. 

"  Why,  papers  to  make  you  your  own  master  —  a  free 
man  —  you  surely  know  what  that  means.  Did  you  never 
hear  of  free  niggers  ?" 

"  Sartin  —  awful  poor  debble,  dey  be,  too.  You  catch 
N«b,  one  day,  at  being  a  free  nigger,  gib  you  leave  to  tell 
him  of  it,  Masser  Mile  !" 

Here  was  another  burst  of  laughter,  that  sounded  like  a 
chorus  in  merriment. 

"  This  is  a  little  extraordinary,  Neb  !  I  thought,  boy,  all 
slaves  pined  for  freedom  ?" 

"P'rhaps  so;  p'rhaps  not.  What  good  he  do,  Masser 
Mile,  when  heart  and  body  well  satisfy  as  it  is.  Now,  how 
long  a  Wallingford  family  lib,  here,  in  dis  berry  spot?" — 
Neb  always  talked  more  like  a  "  nigger,"  when  within 
hearing  of  the  household  gods,  than  he  did  at  sea. 

"How  long?  About  a  hundred  years,  Neb — just  one 
hundred  and  seven,  I  believe  ;  to  be  accurate." 

"  And  how  long  a  Clawbonny  family,  at  'e  same  time, 
Masser  Mile  ?" 

"  Upon  my  word,  Neb,  your  pedigree  is  a  little  confused, 
and  I  cannot  answer  quite  as  certainly.  Eighty  or  ninety, 
though,  I  should  think,  at  least ;  and,  possibly  a  hundred, 
too.  Let  me  see  —  you  called  old  Pompey  your  grand 
father  ;  did  you  not,  Neb  ?" 

"  Sart'in — berry  good  grandfader,  too,  Masser  Mile.  Ole 
Pomp  a  wonderful  black  !" 

"  Oh  !  I  say  nothing  touching  the  quality — I  dare  say  ho 
was  as  good  as  another.  Well,  I  think  that  I  have  heard 
old  Pompey's  grandfather  was  an  imported  Guinea,  and  that 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  389 

he  was  purchased  by  my  great-grandfather,  about  the  year 
1700." 

"  Dat  just  as  good  as  gospel !  Who  want  to  make  up  lie 
about  poor  debble  of  nigger?  Well,  den,  Masser  Mile,  in 
all  dem  1700  year,  did  he  ebber  hear  of  a  Clawbonny  that 
want  to  be  a  free  nigger  ?  Tell  me  dat,  once,  an'  I  hab  an 
answer." 

"  You  have  asked  me  more  than  I  can  answer,  boy  ;  for, 
I  am  not  in  the  secret  of  your  own  wishes,  much  less  in 
those  of  all  your  ancestors." 

Neb  pulled  off  his  tarpaulin,  scratched  his  wool,  rolled 
his  black  eyes  at  me,  as  if  he  enjoyed  the  manner  in  which 
he  had  puzzled  me  ;  after  which  he  set  off  on  a  tumbling 
excursion,  in  the  road,  going  like  a  wheel  on  his  hands  and 
feet,  showing  his  teeth  like  rows  of  pearls,  and  concluding 
the  whole  with  roar  the  third,  that  sounded  as  if  the  hills 
and  valleys  were  laughing,  in  the  very  fatness  of  their  fer 
tility.  The  physical  tour  de  force,  was  one  of  those  feats 
of  agility  in  which  Neb  had  been  my  instructor,  ten  years 
before. 

'*  S'pose  I  free,  who  do  sich  matter  for  you,  Masser 
Mile?"  cried  Neb,  like  one  laying  down  an  unanswerable 
proposition.  "  No,  no,  sir, — I  belong  to  you,  you  belong  to 
me,  and  we  belong  to  one  anodder." 

This  settled  the  matter  for  the  present,  and  I  said  no  more. 
Neb  was  ordered  to  be  in  readiness  for  the  next  day ;  and 
at  the  appointed  hour,  I  met  the  assembled  party  to  take  my 
leave,  on  this,  my  third  departure  from  the  roof  of  my 
fathers.  It  had  been  settled  the  Major  and  Emily  were  to 
remain  at  the  farm  until  July,  when  they  were  to  proceed 
to  the  Springs,  for  the  benefit  of  the  water,  after  living  so 
long  in  a  hot  climate.  I  had  passed  an  hour  with  my  guar 
dian  alone,  and  he  had  no  more  to  say,  than  to  wish  rne 
well,  and  to  bestow  his  blessing.  I  did  not  venture  an  offer 
to  embrace  Lucy.  It  was  the  first  time  we  had  parted 
without  this  token  of  affection  ;  but  I  was  shy,  and  I  fancied 
she  was  cold.  She  offered  me  her  hand,  as  frankly  as  ever, 
however,  and  I  pressed  it  fervently,  as  I  wished  her  adieu. 
As  for  Grace,  she  wept  in  my  arms,  just  as  she  had  always 
done  ,  ^nd  the  Major  and  Emily  shook  hands  cordially  with 
33* 


390  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

me,  it  being  understood  I  should  find  them  in  New  York,  at 
my  return.  Rupert  accompanied  me  down  to  the  sloop. 

**  If  you  should  find  an  occasion,  Miles,  let  us  hear  from 
you,"  said  my  old  friend.  "  I  have  a  lively  curiosity  to 
learn  something  of  the  Frenchmen  ;  nor  am  I  entirely  with 
out  the  hope  of  soon  gratifying  the  desire,  in  person." 

"  You  ! — If  you  have  any  intention  to  visit  France,  what 
better  opportunity,  than  to  go  in  my  cabin  1  Is  it  business, 
that  will  take  you  there  ?" 

"  Not  at  all ;  pure  pleasure.  Our  excellent  cousin  thinks 
a  gentleman  of  a  certain  class  ought  to  travel ;  and  I  believe 
she  has  an  idea  of  getting  me  attached  to  the  legation,  in 
some  form  or  other." 

This  sounded  so  odd  to  me !  Rupert  Hardinge,  who  had 
not  one  penny  to  rub  against  another,  so  lately,  was  now 
talking  of  his  European  tour,  and  of  legations  !  I  ought 
to  have  been  glad  of  his  good  fortune,  and  I  fancied  I  was. 
I  said  nothing,  this  time,  concerning  his  taking  up  any  por 
tion  of  my  earnings,  having  the  sufficient  excuse  of  not  being 
on  pay  myself.  Rupert  did  not  stay  long  in  the  sloop,  and 
we  were  soon  under  way.  I  looked  eagerly  along  the  high 
banks  of  the  creek,  fringed  as  it  was  with  bushes,  in  hopes 
of  seeing  Grace,  at  least ;  nor  was  I  disappointed.  She  and 
Lucy  had  taken  a  direct  path  to  the  point  where  the  two 
waters  united,  and  were  standing  there,  as  the  sloop  dropped 
past.  They  both  waved  their  handkerchiefs,  in  a  way  to 
show  the  interest  they  felt  in  me ;  and  I  returned  the  parting 
salutations  by  kissing  my  hand  again  and  again.  At  this 
instant,  a  sail-boat  passed  our  bows,  and  I  saw  a  gentleman 
standing  up  in  it,  waving  his  handkerchief,  quite  as  indus 
triously  as  I  was  kissing  my  hand.  A  look  told  me  it  was 
Andrew  Drewett,  who  directed  his  boat  to  the  point,  and 
was  soon  making  his  bows  to  the  girls  in  person.  His  boat 
ascended  the  creek,  no  doubt  with  his  luggage ;  while  the 
last  I  saw  of  the  party  it  was  walking  off  in  company, 
taking  the  direction  of  the  house. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  39 1 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

u  Or  feeling,  as  the  storm  increases, 
The  love  of  terror  nerve  thy  breast, 

Didst  venture  to  the  coast : 
To  see  the  mighty  war-ship  leap 
From  wave  to  wave  upon  the  deep, 
Like  chamois  goat  from  steep  to  steep, 
Till  low  in  valley  lost" 

ALLSTON. 

ROGER  TALCOTT  had  not  been  idle  during  my  absence. 
Glawboany  was  so  dear  to  me,  that  I  had  staid  longer  than  was 
proposed  in  the  original  plan ;  and  I  now  found  the  hatches 
on  the  Dawn,  a  crew  shipped,  and  nothing  remaining  but  to 
clear  out.  I  mean  the  literal  thing,  and  not  the  slang  phrase, 
one  of  those  of  which  so  many  have  crept  into  the  American 
language,  through  the  shop,  and  which  even  find  their  way 
into  print ;  such  as  "  charter  coaches,"  "  on  a  boat,"  "  on 
board  a  stage,"  and  other  similar  elegancies.  "  On  a  boat" 

always  makes  me  ,  even  at  my  present  time  of  life. 

The  Dawn  was  cleared  the  day  I  reached  town. 

Several  of  the  crew  of  the  Crisis  had  shipped  with  us 
anew,  the  poor  fellows  having  already  made  away  with  all 
their  wages  and  prize-money,  in  the  short  space  of  a  month  1 
This  denoted  the  usual  improvidence  of  sailors,  and  was 
thought  nothing  out  of  the  common  way.  The  country 
being  at  peace,  a  difficulty  with  Tripoli  excepted,  it  was  no 
longer  necessary  for  ships  to  go  armed.  The  sudden  ex 
citement  produced  by  the  brush  with  the  French  had  already 
subsided,  and  the  navy  was  reduced  to  a  few  vessels  that 
had  been  regularly  built  for  the  service  ;  while  the  lists  of 
officers  had  been  curtailed  of  two-thirds  of  their  names.  We 
were  no  longer  a  warlike,  but  were  fast  getting  to  be  a 
strictly  commercial,  body  of  seamen.  I  had  a  single  six- 
pounder,  and  half  a  dozen  muskets,  in  the  Dawn,  besides  a 
pair  or  two  of  pistols,  with  just  ammunition  enough  to  quell 
a  mutiny,  fire  a  few  signal-guns,  or  to  kill  a  few  ducks. 

We  sailed  on  the  3d  of  July.     I  have  elsewhere  intimated 


392  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

that  the  Manhattanese  hold  exaggerated  notions  of  the  com 
parative  beauty  of  the  scenery  of  their  port,  sometimes  pre 
suming  to  compare  it  even  with  Naples  ;  to  the  bay  of  which 
it  bears  some  such  resemblance  as  a  Dutch  canal  bears  to  a 
river  flowing  through  rich  meadows,  in  the  freedom  and 
grace  of  nature.  Nevertheless,  there  are  times  and  seasons 
when  the  bay  of  New  York  offers  a  landscape  worthy  of 
any  pencil.  It  was  at  one  of  these  felicitous  moments  that 
the  Dawn  cast  off  from  the  wharf,  and  commenced  her 
voyage  to  Bordeaux.  There  was  barely  air  enough  from 
the  southward  to  enable  us  to  handle  the  ship,  and  we  pro 
fited  by  a  morning  ebb  to  drop  down  to  the  Narrows,  in  the 
midst  of  a  fleet  of  some  forty  sail ;  most  of  the  latter,  how 
ever,  being  coasters.  Still,  we  were  a  dozen  ships  and 
brigs,  bound  to  almost  as  many  different  countries.  The 
little  air  there  was,  seemed  scarcely  to  touch  the  surface  of 
the  water ;  and  the  broad  expanse  of  bay  was  as  placid  as 
an  inland  lake,  of  a  summer's  morning.  Yes,  yes — there 
are  moments  when  the  haven  of  New  York  does  present 
pictures  on  which  the  artist  would  seize  with  avidity ;  but, 
the  instant  nature  attempts  any  of  her  grander  models,  on 
this,  a  spot  that  seems  never  to  rise  much  above  the  level 
of  commercial  excellencies,  it  is  found  that  the  accessaries 
are  deficient  in  sublimity,  or  even  beauty. 

I  have  never  seen  our  home  waters  so  lovely  as  on  this 
morning.  The  movements  of  the  vessels  gave  just  enough 
of  life  and  variety  to  the  scene  to  destroy  the  appearance  of 
sameness  ;  while  the  craft  were  too  far  from  the  land  to  pre 
vent  one  of  the  most  unpleasant  effects  of  the  ordinary  land 
scape  scenery  of  the  place — that  produced  by  the  dispro 
portion  between  the  tallness  of  their  spars,  and  the  low 
character  of  the  adjacent  shores.  As  we  drew  near  the 
Narrows,  the  wind  increased ;  and  forty  sail,  working 
through  the  pass  in  close  conjunction,  terminated  the  piece 
with  something  like  the  effect  produced  by  a  Jinale  in  an 
overture.  The  brightness  of  the  morning,  the  placid  charms 
of  the  scenery,  and  the  propitious  circumstances  under  which 
I  commenced  the  voyage,  in  a  commercial  point  of  view, 
had  all  contributed  to  make  me  momentarily  forget  my  pri 
vate  griefs,  and  to  enter  cheerfully  into  the  enjoyment  of  the 
hour. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  393 

I  greatly  disliked  passengers.  They  appeared  to  me  to 
lessen  the  dignity  of  my  position,  and  to  reduce  me  to  the 
level  of  an  inn-keeper,  or  one  who  received  boarders.  I 
"wished  to  command  a  ship,  not  to  take  in  lodgers ;  persons 
whom  you  are  bound  to  treat  with  a  certain  degree  of  con 
sideration,  and,  in  one  sense,  as  your  superiors.  Still,  it 
had  too  much  of  an  appearance  of  surliness,  and  a  want  of 
hospitality,  to  refuse  a  respectable  man  a  passage  across  the 
ocean,  when  he  might  not  get  another  chance  in  a  month, 
and  that,  too,  when  it  was  important  to  himself  to  proceed 
immediately.  In  this  particular  instance,  I  became  the 
dupe  of  a  mistaken  kindness  on  the  part  of  my  former  own 
ers.  These  gentlemen  brought  to  me  a  Mr.  Brigham  — 
Wallace  Mortimer  Brigham  was  his  whole  name,  to  be  par 
ticular —  as  a  person  who  was  desirous  of  getting  to  France 
with  his  wife  and  wife's  sister,  in  order  to  proceed  to  Italy 
for  the  health  of  the  married  lady,  who  was  believed  to  be 
verging  on  a  decline.  These  people  were  from  the  east 
ward,  and  had  fallen  into  the  old  error  of  Americans,  that 
the  south  of  France  and  Italy  had  residences  far  more 
favourable  for  such  a  disease,  than  our  own  country.  This 
was  one  of  the  provincial  notions  of  the  day,  that  were  en- 
.ailed  on  us  by  means  of  colonial  dependency.  I  suppose 
ihe  colonial  existence  is  as  necessary  to  a  people,  as  child 
hood  and  adolescence  are  to  the  man ;  but,  as  my  Lady 
Mary  Wortley  Montagu  told  her  friend,  Lady  Rich  — 
"  Nay ;  but  look  you,  my  dear  madam,  I  grant  it  a  very 
fine  thing  to  continue  always  fifteen ;  that,  everybody  must 
approve  of — it  is  quite  fair :  but,  indeed,  indeed,  one  need 
not  be  five  years  old." 

I  was  prevailed  on  to  take  these  passengers,  and  I  got  a 
specimen  of  their  characters  even  as  we  dropped  down  the 
bay,  in  the  midst  of  the  agreeable  scene  to  which  I  have  just 
alluded.  They  were  gossips  ;  and  that,  too,  of  the  lowest, 
or  personal  cast.  Nothing  made  them  so  happy  as  to  be  talk 
ing  of  the  private  concerns  of  their  fellow-creatures  ;  and,  as 
ever  must  happen  where  this  propensity  exists,  nine-tenths 
of  what  they  said  rested  on  no  better  foundation  than  sur 
mises,  inferences  drawn  from  premises  of  questionable 
accuracy,  and  judgments  that  were  entered  up  without  the 
authority,  or  even  the  inclination,  to  examine  witnesses. 


394  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

They  had  also  a  peculiarity  that  I  have  often  remarked  in 
persons  of  the  same  propensity ;  most  of  their  gossiping 
arose  from  a  desire  to  make  apparent  their  own  intimacy 
with  the  private  affairs  of  people  of  mark — overlooking  the 
circumstance  that,  in  thus  making  the  concerns  of  others 
the  subjects  of  their  own  comments,  they  were  impliedly 
admitting  a  consciousness  of  their  own  inferiority;  men 
seldom  condescending  thus  to  busy  themselves  with  the 
affairs  of  any  but  those  of  whom  they  feel  it  to  be  a  sort  of 
distinction  to  converse.  I  am  much  afraid  good-breeding 
has  more  to  do  with  the  suppression  of  this  vice,  than  good 
principles,  as  the  world  goes.  I  have  remarked  that  per 
sons  of  a  high  degree  of  self-respect,  and  a  good  tone  of 
manners,  are  quite  free  from  this  defect  of  character ;  while 
I  regret  to  be  compelled  to  say  that  I  have  been  acquainted 
with  divers  very  saintly  professors,  including  one  or  two 
parsons,  who  have  represented  the  very  beau  ideal  of 
scandal. 

My  passengers  gave  me  a  taste  of  their  quality,  as  I  have 
said,  before  we  had  got  a  mile  below  Governor's  Island. 
The  ladies  were  named  Sarah  and  Jane ;  and,  between  them 
and  Wallace  Mortimer,  what  an  insight  did  I  obtain  into  the 
private  affairs  of  sundry  personages  of  Salem,  in  Massachu 
setts,  together  with  certain  glimpses  in  at  Boston  folk ;  all, 
however,  referring  to  qualities  and  facts  that  might  be  classed 
among  the  real  or  supposed.  I  can,  at  this  distant  day, 
recall  Scene  1st,  Act  1st,  of  the  drama  that  continued  while 
we  were  crossing  the  ocean,  with  the  slight  interruption  of 
a  few  days,  produced  by  sea-sickness. 

"  Wallace,"  said  Sarah,  "  did  you  say,  yesterday,  that 
John  Viner  had  refused  to  lend  his  daughter's  husband 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  to  get  him  out  of  his  difficulties, 
and  that  he  failed  in  consequence?" 

"  To  be  sure.  It  was  the  common  talk  through  Wall 
Street  yesterday,  and  everybody  believes  it" — there  was  no 
more  truth  in  the  story,  than  in  one  of  the  forty  reports  that 
have  killed  General  Jackson  so  often,  in  the  last  twenty 
years.  "  Yes,  no  one  doubts  it — but  all  the  Viners  are  just 
BO  !  All  of  us,  in  our  part  of  the  world,  know  what  to  think 
of  the  Viners." 

"  Yes,  1  suppose  so,"  drawled  Jane.    "  I  've  heard  it  said 


AFLOAT     AND     A8HOBK.  395 

this  John  Viner's  father  ran  all  the  way  from  the  Commons 
in  Boston,  to  the  foot  of  State  Street,  to  get  rid  of  a  dun 
against  this  very  son,  who  had  his  own  misfortunes  when 
he  was  young." 

"  The  story  is  quite  likely  true  in  part,"  rejoined  Wallace, 
"  though  it  can't  be  quite  accurate,  as  the  old  gentleman  had 
but  one  leg,  and  running  was  altogether  out  of  the  question 
with  him.  It  was  probably  old  Tim  Viner,  who  ran  like  a 
deer  when  a  young  man,  as  I  Ve  heard  people  say." 

"  Well,  then,  I  suppose  he  ran  his  horse,"  added  Jane,  in 
the  same  quiet,  drawling  tone.  "  Something  must  have 
run,  or  they  never  would  have  got  up  the  story." 

I  wondered  if  Miss  Jane  Hitchcox  had  ever  taken  the 
trouble  to  ascertain  who  they  were !  I  happened  to  know 
both  the  Viners,  and  to  be  quite  certain  there  was  not  a 
word  of  truth  in  the  report  of  the  twenty  thousand  dollars, 
having  heard  all  the  particulars  of  the  late  failure  from  one 
of  my  former  owners,  who  was  an  assignee,  and  a  consider 
able  creditor.  Under  the  circumstances,  I  thought  I  would 
hint  as  much. 

"  Are  you  quite  sure  that  the  failure  of  Viner  &  Co.  was 
owing  to  the  circumstance  you  mention,  Mr.  Brigham?"  I 
inquired. 

"  Pretty  certain.  I  am  '  measurably  acquainted1  with 
their  affairs,  and  think  I  am  tolerably  safe  in  saying  so." 

Now,  "measurably  acquainted"  meant  that  he  lived 
within  twenty  or  thirty  miles  of  those  who  did  know  some 
thing  of  the  concerns  of  the  house  in  question,  and  was  in 
the  way  of  catching  scraps  of  the  gossip  that  fell  from  dis 
appointed  creditors.  How  much  of  this  is  there  in  this  good 
country  of  ours!  Men  who  live  just  near  enough  to  one 
another  to  feel  the  influence  of  all  that  rivalry,  envy,  per 
sonal  strifes  and  personal  malignancies,  can  generate,  fancy 
they  are  acquainted,  from  this  circumstance,  with  those  to 
whom  they  have  never  even  spoken.  One-half  the  idle 
tales  that  circulate  up  and  down  the  land,  come  from  autho 
rity  not  one  tittle  better  than  this.  How  much  would  men 
learn,  could  they  only  acquire  the  healthful  lesson  of  under 
standing  that  nothing,  which  is  much  out  of  the  ordinary 
way,  ana  which  circulates  as  received  truths  illustrative  of 
character,  is  true  in  all  its  material  parts,  and  very  little  in 


396  AFLOAT     AND     ASHOKE. 

any.  But,  to  return  to  my  passengers,  and  that  portion  of 
their  conversation  which  most  affected  myself.  They  con- 
tinued  commenting  on  persons  and  families  by  name,  seem 
ingly  more  to  keep  their  hands  in,  than  for  any  other  dis 
coverable  reason, as  each  appeared  to  be  perfectly  conversant 
with  all  the  gossip  that  was  started ;  when  Sarah  casually 
mentioned  the  name  of  Mrs.  Bradfort,  with  some  of  whose 
supposed  friends,  it  now  came  out,  they  had  all  a  general 
visiting  acquaintance. 

"  Dr.  Hosack  is  of  opinion  she  cannot  live  long,  I  hear," 
said  Jane,  with  a  species  of  fierce  delight  in  killing  a  fellow- 
creature,  provided  it  only  led  to  a  gossip  concerning  her 
private  affairs.  "  Her  case  has  been  decided  to  be  a  can 
cer,  now,  for  more  than  a  week,  and  she  made  her  will  last 
Tuesday." 

"  Only  last  Tuesday !"  exclaimed  Sarah,  in  surprise. 
"  Well,  I  heard  she  had  made  her  will  a  twelvemonth  since, 
and  that  she  left  all  her  property  to  young  Rupert  Hardinge; 
in  the  expectation,  some  persons  thought,  that  he  might 
marry  her." 

"  How  could  that  be,  my  dear  ?"  asked  the  husband  ;  "  in 
what  would  she  be  better  off  for  leaving  her  own  property 
to  her  husband  ?" 

"  Why,  by  law,  would  she  not  ?  I  don't  exactly  know 
how  it  would  happen,  for  I  do  not  particularly  understand 
these  things ;  but  it  seems  natural  that  a  woman  would  be 
a  gainer  if  she  made  the  man  she  was  about  to  marry  her 
heir.  She  would  have  her  thirds  in  his  estate,  would  she 
not?" 

"  But,  Mrs.  Brigham,"  said  I,  smiling,  "  is  it  quite  certain 
Mrs.  Bradfort  wishes  to  marry  Rupert  Hardinge,  at  all  ?" 

"  I  know  so  little  of  the  parties,  that  I  cannot  speak  with 
certainty  in  the  matter,  I  admit,  Captain  Wallingford." 

"  Well,  but  Sarah,  dear,"  interposed  the  more  exacting 
Jane,  "  you  are  making  yourself  unnecessarily  ignorant. 
You  very  well  know  how  intimate  we  are  with  the  Greenes, 
and  they  know  the  Winters  perfectly  well,  who  are  next- 
door  neighbours  to  Mrs.  Bradfort.  I  don't  see  how  you  can 
say  we  haven't  s;ood  means  of  being  '  measurably'  well-in- 
<brmed." 

Now,  I  happened  to  know  through  Grace  and  Lucy,  that 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  397 

a  disagreeable  old  person  of  the  name  of  Greene  did  live 
next  door  to  Mrs.  Bradfort ;  but,  that  the  latter  refused  to 
visit  her,  firstly,  because  she  did  not  happen  to  like  her,  and 
secondly,  because  the  two  ladies  belonged  to  very  different 
social  circles ;  a  sufficient  excuse  for  not  visiting  in  town, 
even  though  the  parties  inhabited  the  same  house.  But,  the 
Brighams,  being  Salem  people,  did  not  understand  that  fami 
lies  might  reside  next  door  to  each  other,  in  a  large  town, 
for  a  long  series  of  months,  or  even  years,  and  not  know 
each  other's  names.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  teach  this 
truth,  one  of  every-day  occurrence,  to  the  inhabitant  of  one 
of  our  provincial  towns,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  fancying 
he  had  as  close  an  insight  into  the  private  affairs  of  all  his 
neighbours,  as  they  enjoyed  themselves. 

"  No  doubt  we  are  all  as  well  off  as  most  strangers  in 
New  York,"  observed  the  wife ;  "  still,  it  ought  to  be  admit 
ted  that  we  may  be  mistaken.  I  have  heard  it  said  there  is 
an  old  Mr.  Hardinge,  a  clergyman,  who  would  make  a  far 
better  match  for  the  lady,  than  his  son.  However,  it  is  of 
no  great  moment,  now ;  for,  when  our  neighbour  Mrs.  John 
Foote,  saw  Dr.  Hosack  about  her  own  child,  she  got  all  the 
particulars  out  of  him  about  Mrs.  Bradfort's  case,  from  the 
highest  quarter,  and  I  had  it  from  Mrs.  Foote,  herself." 

"  I  could  not  have  believed  that  a  physician  of  Dr.  Ho- 
sack's  eminence  and  character  would  speak  openly  of  the 
diseases  of  his  patients,"  I  observed,  a  little  tartly,  I  am 
afraid. 

**  Oh  !  he  didn't,"  said  Sarah,  eagerly — "  he  was  as  cun 
ning  as  a  fox,  Mrs.  Foote  owned  herself,  and  played  her  off 
finely ;  but  Mrs.  Foote  was  cunninger  than  any  half-dozen 
foxes,  and  got  it  all  out  of  him  by  negations." 

"  Negations  !"  I  exclaimed,  wondering  what  was  meant 
by  the  term,  though  I  had  understood  I  was  to  expect  a  lit 
tle  more  philosophy  and  metaphysics,  not  to  say  algebra,  in 
my  passengers,  than  usually  accompanied  petticoats  in  our 
part  of  the  world." 

"Certainly,  negations"  answered  the  matron,  with  a  smile 
as  complacent  as  that  which  usually  denotes  the  conscious 
ness  of  intellectual  superiority.  "  One  who  is  a  little  prac 
tised,  can  ascertain  a  fact  as  well  by  means  of  negatives  as 
affirmatives.  It  only  requires  judgment  and  use." 
34 


398  AFLOAT     AND     ASHOEE. 

"  Then  Mrs.  Bradfort's  disease  is  only  ascertained  by  the 
negative  process?" 

"So  I  suppose — but  what  does  one  want  more,"  put  in 
the  husband; — "and  that  she  made  her  will  last  week,  I 
feel  quite  sure,  as  it  was  generally  spoken  of  among  our 
friends." 

Here  were  people  who  had  been  in  New  York  only  a 
month,  looking  out  for  a  ship,  mere  passengers  as  it  might 
be,  who  knew  more  about  a  family  with  which  I  had  my 
self  such  an  intimate  connection,  than  its  own  members.  I 
thought  it  no  wonder  that  such  a  race  was  capable  of  en 
lightening  mankind,  on  matters  and  things  in  general.  But 
the  game  did  not  end  here. 

"  I  suppose  Miss  Lucy  Hardinge  will  get  something  by 
Mrs.  Bradfort's  death,"  observed  Miss  Jane,  "  and  that  she 
and  Mr.  Andrew  Drewett  will  marry  as  soon  as  it  shall  be 
come  proper." 

Here  was  a  speculation,  for  a  man  in  my  state  of  mind ! 
The  names  were  all  right;  some  of  the  incidents,  even, 
were  probable,  if  not  correct ;  yet,  how  could  the  facts  be 
known  to  these  comparative  strangers  ?  Did  the  art  of 
gossiping,  with  all  its  meannesses,  lies,  devices,  inventions, 
and  cruelties,  really  possess  so  much  advantage  over  the  inter 
course  of  the  confiding  and  honest,  as  to  enable  those  who 
practise  it  to  discover  facts  hidden  from  eye-witnesses,  and 
eye-witnesses,  too,  that  had  every  inducement  of  the  strongest 
interest  in  the  issue,  not  to  be  deceived  ?  I  felt  satisfied,  the 
moment  Mrs.  Greene's  name  was  mentioned,  that  my  pas 
sengers  were  not  in  the  true  New  York  set;  and,  justly 
enough,  inferred  they  were  not  very  good  authority  for  one- 
half  they  said  ;  and,  yet,  how  could  they  know  anything  of 
Drewett's  attachment  to  Lucy,  unless  their  information  were 
tolerably  accurate? 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  repeat  all  that  passed  while  the  ship 
dropped  down  the  bay ;  but  enough  escaped  the  gossips  to 
render  me  still  more  unhappy  than  I  had  yet  been,  on  the 
subject  of  Lucy.  I  could  and  did  despise  these  people ;  that 
was  easy  enough ;  but  it  was  not  so  easy  to  forget  all  that 
they  said  and  surmised.  This  is  one  of  the  causes  attendant 
on  the  habit  of  loose  talking ;  one  never  knowing  what  to 
credit,  and  what  not.  In  spite  of  all  my  disgust,  and  a  firm 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  399 

determination  not  to  contribute  in  any  manner  to  the  stock 
in  trade  of  these  people,  I  found  great  difficulty  in  evading 
their  endless  questions.  How  much  they  got  out  of  me,  by 
means  of  the  process  of  negations,  I  never  knew ;  but  they 
got  no  great  matter  through  direct  affirmatives.  Something, 
however,  persons  so  indefatigable,  to  whom  gossiping  was 
the  great  aim  of  life,  must  obtain,  and  they  ascertained  that 
Mr.  Hardinge  was  my  guardian,  that  Rupert  and  I  had 
passed  our  boyhoods  in  each  other's  company,  and  that 
Lucy  was  even  an  inmate  of  my  own  house  the  day  we 
sailed.  This  little  knowledge  only  excited  a  desire  for  more, 
and,  by  the  end  of  a  week,  I  was  obliged  to  submit  to  de 
vices  and  expedients  to  pump  me,  than  which  even  the  thumb 
screw  was  scarcely  more  efficient.  I  practised  on  the  nega 
tive  system,  myself,  with  a  good  deal  of  dexterity,  however, 
and  threw  my  inquisitors  off,  very  handsomely,  more  than 
once,  until  I  discovered  that  Wallace  Mortimer,  determined 
not  to  be  baffled,  actually  opened  communications  with  Neb, 
in  order  to  get  a  clearer  insight  into  my  private  affairs ! 
After  this,  I  presume  my  readers  will  not  care  to  hear  any 
more  about  these  gentry,  whose  only  connection  with  my 
life  grew  out  of  the  misgivings  they  contributed  largely  to 
create  in  my  mind,  touching  the  state  of  Lucy's  affections. 
This  much  they  did  effect,  and  I  was  compelled  to  submit 
to  their  power.  We  are  all  of  us,  more  or  less,  the  dupes  of 
knaves  and  fools. 

All  this,  however,  was  the  fruits  of  several  weeks'  inter 
course,  and  I  have  anticipated  events  a  little,  in  order  to 
make  the  statements  in  connection.  Meeting  a  breeze,  as 
has  been  said  already,  the  Dawn  got  over  the  bar,  about 
two  o'clock,  and  stood  off  the  land,  on  an  easy  bowline,  in 
company  with  the  little  fleet  of  square-rigged  vessels  that 
went  out  at  the  same  time.  By  sunset,  Navesink  again 
dipped,  and  I  was  once  more  fairly  at  sea. 

This  was  at  the  period  when  the  commerce  of  America 
was  at  its  height.  The  spirit  shown  by  the  young  Republic 
in  the  French  affair  had  commanded  a  little  respect,  though 
the  supposed  tendencies  of  the  new  administration  was 
causing  anything  but  a  cordial  feeling  towards  the  country 
to  exist  in  England.  That  powerful  nation,  however,  had 
made  a  hollow  peace  with  France  the  previous  March,  and 


400  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

the  highway  of  nations  was  temporarily  open  o  all  ships 
alike ;  a  state  of  things  that  existed  for  some  ten  months 
after  we  sailed.  Nothing  to  be  apprehended,  consequently, 
lay  before  me,  beyond  the  ordinary  dangers  of  the  ocean. 
For  these  last,  I  was  now  prepared  by  the  experience  of 
several  years  passed  almost  entirely  on  board  ship,  during 
which  time  I  had  encircled  the  earth  itself  in  my  peregrina 
tions. 

Our  run  off  the  coast  was  favourable,  and  the  sixth  day 
out,  we  were  in  the  longitude  of  the  tail  of  the  Grand  Bank. 
I  was  delighted  with  my  ship,  which  turned  out  to  be  even 
more  than  I  had  dared  to  hope  for.  She  behaved  well  under 
all  circumstances,  sailing  even  better  than  she  worked.  The 
first  ten  days  of  our  passage  were  prosperous,  and  we  were 
mid-ocean  by  the  10th  of  the  month.  During  this  time  1 
had  nothing  to  annoy  me  but  the  ceaseless  cancans  of  my 
passengers.  I  had  heard  the  name  of  every  individual  of 
note  in  Salem,  with  certain  passages  in  his  or  her  life,  and 
began  to  fancy  I  had  lived  a  twelvemonth  in  the  place.  At 
length,  I  began  to  speculate  on  the  reason  why  this  morbid 
propensity  should  exist  so  much  stronger  in  that  part  of  the 
world  than  in  any  other  I  had  visited.  There  was  nothing 
new  in  the  disposition  of  the  people  of  small  places  to  gossip, 
and  it  was  often  done  in  large  towns ;  more  especially  those 
that  did  not  possess  the  tone  of  a  capital.  Lady  Mary  Wort- 
ley  Montagu  and  Horace  Walpole  wrote  gossip,  but  it  was 
spiced  with  wit,  as  is  usual  with  the  scandal  of  such  places 
as  London  and  Paris ;  whereas  this,  to  which  I  was  doomed 
to  listen,  was  nothing  more  than  downright  impertinent, 
vulgar,  meddling  with  the  private  affairs  of  all  those  whom 
the  gossips  thought  of  sufficient  importance  to  talk  about. 
At  Clawbonny,  we  had  our  gossip  too,  but  it  was  innocent, 
seldom  infringed  much  on  the  truth,  and  usually  respected 
the  right  of  every  person  to  possess  certain  secrets  that 
might  remain  inviolate  to  the  world.  No  such  rules  pre 
vailed  with  my  passengers.  Like  a  certain  editor  of  a  news 
paper  of  my  acquaintance,  who  acts  as  if  he  fancied  all  things 
in  heaven  and  earth  were  created  expressly  to  furnish  mate 
rials  for  "  paragraphs,"  they  appeared  to  think  that  every 
body  of  their  acquaintance  existed  for  no  other  purpose  than 
to  furnish  them  food  for  conversation.  There  must  have 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  401 

been  some  unusual  cause  for  so  much  personal  espionnage, 
and,  at  length,  I  came  to  the  following  conclusion  on  the 
subject.  I  had  heard  that  church  government,  among  the 
puritans,  descended  into  all  the  details  of  life;  that  it  was  a 
part  of  their  religious  duty  to  watch  over  each  other,  jog 
the  memories  of  the  delinquents,  and  serve  God  by  ferreting 
out  vice.  This  is  a  terrible  inducement  to  fill  the  mind  with 
the  motes  of  a  neighbourhood,  and  the  mind  thus  stowed, 
as  we  sailors  say,  will  be  certain  to  deliver  cargo.  Then 
come  the  institutions,  with  their  never-ending  elections,  and 
the  construction  that  has  been  put  on  the  right  of  the  elector 
to  inquire  into  all  things ;  the  whole  consummated  by  the 
journals,  who  assume  a  power  to  penetrate  the  closet,  ay, 
even  the  heart, — and  lay  bare  its  secrets.  Is  it  any  wonder, 
if  we  should  become,  in  time,  a  nation  of  mere  gossips?  As 
for  my  passengers,  even  Neb  got  to  consider  them  as  so 
many  nuisances. 

From  some  cause  or  other,  whether  it  was  having  these 
loose-tongued  people  on  board  or  not,  is  more  than  I  can 
say,  but  certain  it  is,  about  the  time  Salem  was  handsomely 
cleaned  out,  and  a  heavy  inroad  had  been  made  upon  Boston, 
that  the  weather  changed.  It  began  to  blow  in  gusts,  some 
times  from  one  point  of  the  compass,  sometimes  from  ano 
ther,  until  the  ship  was  brought  to  very  short  canvass,  from 
a  dread  of  being  caught  unprepared.  At  length,  these  fan 
tasies  of  the  winds  terminated  in  a  tremendous  gale,  such  as 
I  had  seldom  then  witnessed  ;  and  such,  indeed,  as  I  have 
seldom  witnessed  since.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose 
that  the  heaviest  weather  occurs  in  the  autumnal,  spring,  or 
winter  months.  Much  the  strongest  blows  I  have  ever 
known,  have  taken  place  in  the  middle  of  the  warm  wea 
ther.  This  is  the  season  of  the  hurricanes ;  and.  out  of  the 
tropics,  I  think  it  is  also  the  season  of  the  gules.  It  is  true, 
these  gales  do  not  return  annually,  a  long  succession  of 
years  frequently  occurring  without  one :  but,  when  they  do 
come,  they  may  be  expected,  in  our  own  seas,  in  July,  Au 
gust,  or  September. 

The  wind  commenced  at  south-west,  on  this  occasion,  and 

it  blew  fresh  for  several  hours,  sending  us  ahead  on  our 

course,  at  the  rate  of  eleven  knots.     As  the  sea  got  up,  and 

sail  was  reduced,  our  speed  was  a  little  diminished  perhaps ; 

34* 


402  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

but  we  must  have  made  more  than  a  hundred  miles  in  the 
first  ten  hours.  The  day  was  bright,  cloudless,  genial,  and 
even  bland ;  there  being  nothing  unpleasant  in  the  feeling  of 
the  swift  currents  of  the  air,  that  whirled  past  us.  At  sun 
set  I  did  not  quite  like  the  appearance  of  the  horizon ;  and 
we  let  the  ship  wade  through  it,  under  her  three  top-sails, 
single-reefed,  her  fore-course,  and  fore-top-mast  staysail. 
This  was  short  canvass,  for  a  vessel  that  had  the  wind 
nearly  over  her  taffrail.  At  nine  o'clock,  second  reefs  were 
taken  in,  and  at  ten,  the  mizen-top-sail  was  furled.  I  then 
turned  in,  deeming  the  ship  quite  snug,  leaving  orders  with 
the  mates  to  reduce  the  sail,  did  they  find  the  ship  strain 
ing,  or  the  spars  in  danger,  and  to  call  me  should  anything 
serious  occur.  I  was  not  called  until  daylight,  when  Tal- 
cott  laid  his  hand  on  my  shoulder,  and  said,  "  You  had 
better  turn  out,  Captain  Wallingford ;  we  have  a  peeler,  and 
I  want  a  little  advice." 

It  was  a  peeler,  indeed,  when  I  reached  the  deck.  The 
ship  was  under  a  fore-course  and  a  close-reefed  main-top 
sail,  canvass  that  can  be  carried  a  long  time,  while  running 
off;  but  which,  I  at  once  saw,  was  quite  too  much  for  us. 
An  order  was  given  immediately,  to  take  in  the  top-sail. 
Notwithstanding  the  diminutive  surface  that  was  exposed, 
the  surges  given  by  this  bit  of  canvass,  as  soon  as  the  clews 
were  eased  off  sufficiently  to  allow  the  cloth  to  jerk,  shook 
the  vessel's  hull.  It  was  a  miracle  that  we  saved  the  mast, 
or  that  we  got  the  cloth  rolled  up  at  all.  At  one  time,  I 
thought  it  would  be  necessary  to  cut  it  from  the  yard.  For 
tunately  the  gale  was  steady,  this  day  proving  bright  and 
clear,  like  that  which  had  preceded. 

The  men  aloft  made  several  attempts  to  hail  the  deck,  but 
the  wind  blew  too  heavily  to  suffer  them  to  be  heard.  Tal- 
cott  had  gone  on  the  yard  himself,  and  I  saw  him  gesticu 
lating,  in  a  way  to  indicate  there  was  something  ahead. 
The  seas  were  running  so  high  that  it  was  not  easy  to  ob 
tain  much  of  a  look  at  the  horizon ;  but,  by  getting  into  the 
mizen-rigging,  I  had  a  glimpse  of  a  vessel's  spars,  to  the 
eastward  of  us,  and  directly  on  our  course.  It  was  a  shi[» 
under  bare  poles,  running  as  nearly  before  us  as  she  could, 
but  making  most  fearful  yaws ;  sometimes  sheering  away 
off  to  starboard,  in  a  way  to  threaten  her  with  broaching- 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  408 

to ;  then  taking  a  yaw  to  port,  in  which  I  could  see  all  three 
of  her  masts,  with  their  yards  pointed  nearly  at  us.  I 
got  but  one  glimpse  of  her  hull,  as  it  rose  on  a  sea,  at  the 
same  instant  with  the  Dawn,  and  it  actually  appeared  as  if 
about  to  be  blown  away,  though  I  took  the  stranger  to  be  a 
vessel  at  least  as  large  as  we  were  ourselves.  We  were 
evidently  approaching  her  fast,  though  both  vessels  were 
going  the  same  way. 

The  Dawn  steered  beautifully,  one  of  the  greatest  virtues 
in  a  ship,  under  the  circumstances  in  which  we  were  then 
placed.     A  single  man  was  all  that  we  had  at  the  wheel, 
and  he  controlled  it  with  ease.     I  could  see  it  was  very  dif 
ferent  with  the  ship  ahead,  and  fancied  they  had  made  a 
mistake  on  board  her,  by  taking  in  all  their  canvass.     Tal- 
cott  and  the  gang  aloft,  had  not  got  out  of  the  top,  however, 
before  we  had  a  hint  that  it  would  be  well  to  imitate  the 
stranger's  prudence.     Though  our  vessel  steered  so  much 
better  than  another,  no  ship  can  keep  on  a  direct  line,  while 
running  before  the  wind,  in  a  heavy  sea.    The  waves  occa 
sionally  fly  past  a  vessel,  like  the  scud  glancing  through  the 
air ;  then,  they  seem  to  pause,  altogether,  as  if  to  permit  the 
ship  to  overtake  them.     When  a  vessel  is  lifted  aft  by  one 
of  these  torrents  of  rushing  waters,  the  helm  loses  a  portion 
of  its  power ;   and  the  part  of  the  vast  machine  that  first 
receives  the  impulse,  seems  intent  on  exchanging  places 
with  the  bows,  vessels  often  driving  sideways  before  the 
surges,  for  spaces  of  time  that  are  exceedingly  embarrassing 
to  the  mariner.     This  happens  to  the  best-steering  ships, 
and  is  always  one  source  of  danger  in  very  heavy  weather, 
to  those  that  are  running  off.     The  merit  of  the  Dawn  was 
in  coming  under  command  again,  quickly,  and  in  not  losing 
so  much  of  the  influence  of  her  helm,  as  is  frequently  the 
case  with  wild-steering  craft.    I  understand  there  is  a  sloop 
of-war  now  in  the  navy,  that  is  difficult  to  get  through  a 
narrow  passage,  in   a  blow,  in  consequence  of  her  having 
this  propensity- to  turn  her  head  first  one  way,  then  another, 
like  a  gay  horse  that  breaks  his  bridle. 

The  hint  given,  just  as  Talcott  was  quitting  the  top,  and 
to  which  there  has  been  allusion,  was  given  under  the  im 
pulsion  of  one  of  these  driving  seas.  The  Dawn  still  carried 
her  fore-topmast  stay-sail,  a  small  triangular  piece  of  stout 


404  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

canvass,  and  which  was  particularly  useful,  as  leading  from 
the  end  of  the  bowsprit  towards  the  head  of  the  fore-top 
mast,  in  preventing  her  from  broaching-to,  or  pressing  up 
with  her  bows  so  near  the  wind,  as  to  produce  the  danger 
of  seas  breaking  over  the  mass  of  the  hull,  and  sweeping  the 
decks.  The  landsman  will  understand  this  is  the  gravest 
of  the  dangers  that  occur  at  sea,  in  very  heavy  weather. 
When  the  ship  is  thrown  broadside  to  the  sea,  or  comes  up 
so  as  to  bring  the  wind  abeam,  or  even  forward  of  the  beam, 
as  in  lying-to,  there  is  always  risk  from  this  source.  An 
other  danger,  which  is  called  pooping,  is  of  a  character  that 
one  who  is  ignorant  of  the  might  of  the  ocean  when  aroused, 
would  not  be  apt  to  foresee.  It  proceeds  from  the  impetu 
ous  velocity  of  the  waves,  which,  rushing  ahead  so  much 
faster  than  the  vessel  that  is  even  driving  before  the  gale, 
breaks  against  the  quarter,  or  stern,  and  throws  its  masses 
of  water  along  the  deck,  in  a  line  with  its  keel.  I  suppose 
the  President  steamer  to  have  been  lost  by  the  first  of  these 
two  dangers,  as  will  appear  in  the  following  little  theory. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  well-constructed  steamers  are  safer 
craft,  the  danger  from  fire  excepted,  than  the  ordinary  ship, 
except  in  very  heavy  weather.  With  an  ordinary  gale, 
they  can  contend  with  sufficient  power ;  but,  it  is  an  unfor 
tunate  consequence  of  their  construction,  that  exactly  as 
the  danger  increases,  their  power  of  meeting  it  diminishes. 
In  a  very  heavy  swell,  one  cannot  venture  to  resort  to  a 
strong  head  of  steam,  since  one  wheel  may  be  nearly  out  of 
water,  while  the  other  is  submerged,  and  thus  endanger  the 
machinery.  Now,  the  great  length  of  these  vessels  renders 
it  difficult  to  keep  them  up  to  the  wind,  or  head  to  sea,  the 
safest  of  all  positions  for  a  vessel  in  heavy  weather,  while  it 
exposes  them  to  the  additional  risk  of  having  the  water 
break  aboard  them  near  the  waist,  in  running  dead  before 
it.  In  a  word,  I  suppose  a  steamer  difficult  to  be  kept  out 
of  the  trough,  in  very  heavy  weather;  and  no  vessel  can  be 
safe  in  the  trough  of  the  seas,  under  such  circumstances ; 
one  of  great  length  less  so  than  others.  This  is  true,  how 
ever,  only  in  reference  to  those  steamers  which  carry  the  old- 
fashioned  wheel ;  Erricson's  screw,  and  Hunter's  submerg 
ed  wheels,  rendering  steam-ships,  in  my  poor  judgment,  the 
safest  craft  in  the  world. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  405 

The  Dawn  was  overtaken  by  the  seas,  from  time  to  time ; 
and,  then,  like  everything  else  that  floats,  she  yawed,  or 
rather,  had  her  stern  urged  impetuously  round,  as  if  it  were 
in  a  hurry  to  get  ahead  of  the  bows.  On  these  occasions, 
the  noise  made  by  the  fore-top-mast  stay-sail,  as  it  collapsed 
and  filled,  resembled  the  report  of  a  small  gun.  We  had 
similar  reports  from  the  fore-sail,  which,  for  moments  at  a 
time,  was  actually  becalmed,  as  the  ship  settled  into  the 
trough,  and  then  became  distended  with  a  noise  like  that  of 
the  shaking  of  a  thousand  carpets,  all  filled  with  Sancho 
Panzas,  at  the  same  instant.  As  yet,  the  cloth  and  gear 
had  stood  these  violent  shocks  admirably  ;  but,  just  as  Tal- 
cott  was  leading  his  party  down,  the  ship  made  one  of  her 
side-long  movements  ;  the  stay-sail  filled  with  a  tremendous 
report,  and  away  it  flew  to  leeward,  taken  out  of  the  bolt- 
rope  as  if  it  had  been  cut  by  shears,  and  then  used  by  the 
furies  of  the  tempest.  Talcott  smiled,  as  he  gazed  at  the 
driving  canvass,  which  went  a  quarter  of  a  mile  before  it 
struck  the  water,  whirling  like  a  kite  that  has  broken  its 
string,  and  then  he  shook  his  head.  I  disliked,  too,  the  tre 
mendous  surges  of  the  fore-sail,  when  it  occasionally  col 
lapsed  and  as  suddenly  filled,  menacing  to  start  every  bolt, 
and  to  part  every  rope  connected  with  block  or  spar. 

"  We  must  get  in  that  fore-course,  Mr.  Talcott,"  I  said, 
"  or  we  shall  lose  something.  I  see  the  ship  ahead  is  un 
der  bare-poles,  and  it  were  better  we  were  as  snug.  If  I 
did  not  dislike  losing  such  a  wind,  it  would  be  wiser  to 
heave-to  the  ship ;  man  the  buntlines  and  clew-garnets,  at 
once,  and  wait  for  a  favourable  moment." 

We  had  held  on  to  our  canvass  too  long ;  the  fault  of 
youth.  As  I  had  determined  to  shorten  sail,  however,  we 
now  set  about  it  in  earnest,  and  with  all  the  precautions  ex 
acted  by  the  circumstances.  Everybody  that  could  be  mus 
tered,  was  placed  at  the  clew-lines  and  buntlines,  with  strict 
orders  to  do  his  best  at  the  proper  moments.  The  first- 
mate  went  to  the  tack,  and  the  second  to  the  sheet.  I  was 
to  take  in  the  sail  myself.  I  waited  for  a  collapse ;  and 
then,  while  the  ship  was  buried  between  two  mounds  of 
water,  when  it  was  impossible  to  see  a  hundred  yards  from 
her  in  any  direction,  and  the  canvass  was  actually  dropping 
against  the  mast  I  gave  th  usual  orders.  Every  man 


406  AFLOAT    AND     ASHORE. 

hauled,  as  if  for  life,  and  we  had  got  the  clews  pretty 
well  up,  when  the  vessel  came  out  of  the  cavern  into  the 
tempest,  receiving  the  whole  power  of  the  gale,  with  a  sud 
den  surge,  into  the  bellying  canvass.  Away  went  every 
thing,  as  if  the  gear  were  cobwebs.  At  the  next  instant,  the 
sail  was  in  ribands.  I  was  deeply  mortified,  as  well  as 
rendered  uneasy,  by  this  accident,  as  the  ship  ahead  un 
questionably  was  in  full  view  of  all  that  happened. 

It  was  soon  apparent,  however,  that  professional  pride 
must  give  place  to  concern  for  the  safety  of  the  vessel.  The 
wind  had  been  steadily  increasing  in  power,  and  had  now 
reached  a  pass  when  it  became  necessary  to  look  things 
steadily  in  the  face.  The  strips  of  canvass  that  remained 
attached  to  the  yard,  with  the  blocks  and  gear  attached, 
threshed  about  in  a  way  to  threaten  the  lives  of  all  that  ap 
proached.  This  was  only  at  the  intervals  when  the  ship 
settled  into  the  troughs ;  for,  while  under  the  full  influence 
of  the  gale,  pennants  never  streamed  more  directly  from  a 
mast,  than  did  these  heavy  fragments  from  the  fore-yard. 
It  was  necessary  to  get  rid  of  them ;  and  Talcott  had  just 
volunteered  to  go  on  the  yard  with  this  end,  when  Neb 
sprang  into  the  rigging  without  an  order,  and  was  soon  be 
yond  the  reach  of  the  voice.  This  daring  black  had  several 
narrow  escapes,  more  especially  from  the  fore-sheet  blocks  ; 
but  he  succeeded  in  cutting  everything  adrift,  and  in  leav 
ing  nothing  attached  to  the  spar,  but  the  bolt-rope  of  the 
head  of  the  sail.  It  is  true,  little  effected  this  object,  when 
the  knife  could  be  applied,  the  threads  of  the  stout  canvass 
snapping  at  the  touch. 

As  soon  as  the  ship  was  under  bare  poles,  though  at  the 
sacrifice  of  two  of  her  sails,  I  had  leisure  to  look  out  for  the 
other  vessel.  There  she  was,  more  than  half  a  mile  ahead 
of  us,  yawing  wildly,  and  rolling  her  lower  yard-arm,  to 
the  water's  edge.  As  we  drew  nearer,  I  got  better  glimpses 
of  this  vessel,  which  was  a  ship,  and  as  I  fancied,  an  Eng 
lish  West  Indiaman,  deep-loaded  with  the  produce  of  the 
islands.  Deep-loaded  as  I  fancied,  for  it  was  only  at  in 
stants  that  she  could  be  seen  at  all,  under  circumstances  to 
judge  of  this  fact ;  sometimes  her  hull  appearing  to  be 
nearly  smothered  in  the  brine,  and  then,  again,  her  copper 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  407 

glistening  in  the  sun,  resembling  a  light  vessel,  kept  under 
the  care  of  some  thrifty  housewife. 

The  Dawn  did  not  fly,  now  all  her  canvass  was  gone,  as 
fast  as  she  had  previously  done.  She  went  through  the 
water  at  a  greater  rate  than  the  vessel  ahead  ;  but  it  re 
quired  an  hour  longer  to  bring  the  two  ships  within  a  cable's 
length  of  each  other.  Then,  indeed,  we  got  a  near  view  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  elements  can  play  with  such  a 
mass  of  wood  and  iron  as  a  ship,  when  in  an  angry  mood. 
There  were  instants  when  I  fancied  I  could  nearly  see  the 
keel  of  the  stranger  for  half  its  length,  as  he  went  foaming 
up  on  the  crest  of  a  wave,  apparently  ready  to  quit  the  water 
altogether;  then  again,  he  would  settle  away  into  the  blue 
abyss,  hiding  everything  beneath  his  tops.  When  both  ves 
sels  sunk  together,  no  sign  of  our  neighbour  was  visib'e, 
though  so  near.  We  came  up  after  one  of  these  deep 
plunges  into  the  valleys  of  the  ocean,  and,  to  our  alarm, 
saw  the  English  ship  yawing  directly  athwart  our  course, 
and  within  fifty  fathoms  of  us.  This  was  about  the  distance 
at  which  I  intended  to  pass,  little  dreaming  of  finding  the 
other  ship  so  completely  in  our  way.  The  Englishman 
must  have  intended  to  come  a  little  nearer,  and  got  one  of 
those  desperate  sheers  that  so  often  ran  away  with  him. 
There  he  was,  however ;  and  a  breathless  minute  followed, 
when  he  was  first  seen.  Two  vehicles  dashing  along  a 
highway,  with  frightened  and  run-away  teams,  would  not 
present  a  sight  one-half  as  terrific  as  that  which  lay  directly 
before  our  eyes. 

The  Dawn  was  plunging  onward  with  a  momentum  to 
dash  in  splinters,  did  she  strike  any  resisting  object,  and 
yawing  herself  sufficiently  to  render  the  passage  hazardous. 
But  the  stranger  made  the  matter  ten-fold  worse.  When  1 
first  saw  him,  in  this  fearful  proximity,  his  broadside  was 
nearly  offered  to  the  seas,  and  away  he  was  flying,  on  the 
summit  of  a  mountain  of  foam,  fairly  crossing  our  fore-foot. 
At  the  next  moment,  he  fell  off  before  the  wind,  again,  and 
I  could  just  see  his  tops  directly  ahead.  His  sheer  had 
been  to-port,  our  intention  having  been  to  pass  him  on  his 
larboard  side ;  but,  perceiving  him  to  steer  so  wild,  I  thought 
it  might  be  well  to  go  in  the  other  direction.  Quick  as  the 


408  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORB. 

words  could  be  uttered,  therefore,  I  called  out  to  port  mi. 
helm.  This  was  done,  of  course ;  and  just  as  the  Dawn 
felt  the  new  influence,  the  other  vessel  took  the  same  sheer, 
and  away  we  both  went  to  starboard,  at  precisely  the  same 
instant.  I  shouted  to  right  our  helm  to  "  hard  a-starboard," 
and  it  was  well  I  did  ;  a  minute  more  would  have  brought 
us  down  headlong  on  the  Englishman.  Even  now  we  could 
only  see  his  hull,  at  instants ;  but  the  awful  proximity  of  his 
spars  denoted  the  full  extent  of  the  danger.  Luckily,  we 
hit  on  opposite  directions,  or  our  common  destruction  would 
have  been  certain.  But,  it  was  one  thing,  in  that  cauldron 
of  a  sea,  to  determine  on  a  course,  and  another  to  follow 
it.  As  we  rose  on  the  last  wave  that  alone  separated 
us  from  the  stranger,  he  was  nearly  ahead ;  and  as  we 
glanced  onward,  I  saw  that  we  should  barely  clear  his 
larboard  quarter.  Our  helm  being  already  a  starboard, 
no  more  could  be  done.  Should  he  take  another  sheer  to 
port,  we  must  infallibly  cut  him  in  twain.  As  I  have  said, 
he  had  jammed  his  helm  to-port,  and  slowly,  and  with  a  spe 
cies  of  reluctance,  he  inclined  a  little  aside.  Then  we  came 
up,  both  ships  rolling  off,  or  our  yards  must  have  inter 
locked,  and  passing  his  quarter  with  our  bows,  we  each  felt 
the  sheer  at  the  same  instant,  and  away  we  went  asunder, 
the  sterns  of  the  ships  looking  at  each  other,  and  certainly 
not  a  hundred  feet  apart.  A  shout  from  Talcott  drew  me 
to  our  taffrail,  and  standing  on  that  of  our  neighbour,  what 
or  whom  should  I  see  waving  his  hat,  but  the  red  counte 
nance  of  honest  Moses  Marble  ! 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  4C9 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

•  At  the  piping  of  all  hands, 
When  the  judgment  signal's  spread  — 
When  the  islands  and  the  lands, 
And  the  seas  give  up  the  dead, 
And  the  south  and  the  north  shall  come ; 
When  the  sinner  is  dismay'd, 
And  the  just  man  is  afraid, 
Then  heaven  be  thy  aid, 
Poor  Tom:1 

BEAINARD. 

THE  two  ships,  in  the  haste  of  their  respective  crews  to 
get  clear  of  each  other,  were  now  running  in  the  troughs ; 
and  the  same  idea  would  seem  to  have  suggested  itself  to 
me  and  the  other  master,  at  the  same  instant.  Instead  of 
endeavouring  to  keep  away  again,  one  kept  his  helm  hard 
a-port,  the  other  as  hard  a-star board,  until  we  both  came  by 
the  wind,  though  on  opposite  tacks.  The  Englishman  set 
his  mizen-stay-sail,  and  though  he  made  bad  weather  of  it, 
fie  evidently  ran  much  less  risk  than  in  scudding.  The 
seas  came  on  board  him  constantly ;  but  not  in  a  way  to  do 
any  material  damage.  As  for  the  Dawn,  she  lay-to,  like  a 
duck,  under  bare  poles.  I  had  a  spare  stay-sail,  stopped  up 
in  her  mizen-rigging,  from  the  top  down,  and  after  that  the 
ship  was  both  easy  and  dry.  Once  in  a  while,  it  is  true, 
her  bows  would  meet  some  fellow  heavier  than  common, 
and  then  we  got  a  few  hogsheads  of  water  forward  ;  but  it 
went  out  to  leeward  as  fast  as  it  came  in  to  windward.  At 
the  turn  of  the  day,  however,  the  gale  broke,  and  the  weather 
moderated  sensibly ;  both  sea  and  wind  beginning  to  go 
down. 

Had  we  been  alone,  I  should  not  have  hesitated  about 
bearing  up,  getting  some  sail  on  the  ship,  and  running  off 
on  my  course,  again ;  but,  the  desire  to  speak  the  stranger, 
and  have  some  communication  with  Marble,  was  so  strong, 
that  I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  do  so.  Including  my 
self,  Talcott,  Neb,  the  cabin-steward,  and  six  of  the  people 
forward,  there  were  ten  of  us  on  board,  who  knew  the  ex- 
35 


410  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

mate ;  and,  of  the  whole  ten,  there  was  not  a  dissenting 
voice  concerning  his  identity.  I  determined,  therefore,  to 
stick  by  the  Englishman,  and  at  least  have  some  communi 
cation  with  my  old  friend.  As  for  myself,  I  own  I  loved 
Marble,  uncouth  and  peculiar  as  he  sometimes  was.  I  owed 
him  more  than  any  other  man  living,  Mr.  Hardinge  ex- 
cepted ;  for  he  had  made  me  a  seaman,  having  been  of  use 
to  me  professionally,  in  a  hundred  ways.  Then  we  had 
seen  so  much  in  company,  that  I  regarded  him  as  a  portion 
of  my  experience,  and  as,  in  some  measure,  identified  with 
my  own  nautical  career. 

I  was  afraid  at  one  moment,  that  the  Englishman  intended 
to  remain  as  he  was,  all  night ;  but,  about  an  hour  before 
sunset,  I  had  the  gratification  to  see  him  set  his  fore-sail, 
and  keep  off.  I  had  wore  round,  two  hours  before,  to  get 
the  Dawn's  head  on  the  same  tack  with  him,  and  followed 
under  bare  poles.  As  the  stranger  soon  set  his  main-top 
sail  close  reefed,  and  then  his  fore,  it  enabled  us  to  make  a 
little  sail  also,  in  order  to  keep  up  with  him.  This  we  did 
all  that  night ;  and,  in  the  morning,  both  ships  were  under 
everything  that  would  draw,  with  a  moderate  breeze  from 
the  northward,  and  no  great  matter  of  sea  going.  The  Eng 
lish  vessel  was  about  a  league  to  leeward  of  us,  and  a  little 
ahead.  Under  such  circumstances,  it  was  easy  to  close. 
Accordingly,  just  as  the  two  ships'  companies  were  about  to 
go  to  breakfast,  the  Dawn  ranged  up  under  the  lee-quarter 
of  the  stranger. 

"What  ship's  that?"  I  hailed,  in  the  usual  manner. 

"  The  Dundee ;  Robert  Ferguson,  master  —  what  ship 's 
that  ?" 

««  The  Dawn  ;  Miles  Wallingford.  Where  are  you  from  ?" 

"  From  Rio  de  Janeiro,  bound  to  London.  Where  are 
you  from  ?" 

"  From  New  York,  to  Bordeaux.  A  heavy  blow  we  have 
just  had  of  it." 

"  Quite ;  the  like  of  it,  I  've  not  seen  in  many  a  day. 
You  've  a  pratty  sea-boat,  yon  !" 

"  She  made  capital  weather,  in  the  late  gale,  and  I  've 
every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  her.  Pray,  haven't  you 
an  American  on  board,  of  the  name  of  Marble  ?  We 
fancied  that  we  saw  the  face  of  an  old  shipmate  on  your 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  411 

taffrail,  yesterday,  and  have  kept  you  company  in  oider  to 
inquire  after  his  news." 

"  Ay,  ay,"  answered  the  Sotch  master,  waving  his  hand. 
"  The  chiel  will  be  visiting  you  prasently.  He 's  below, 
stowing  away  his  dunnage  ;  and  will  be  thanking  you  for  a 
passage  home,  I  'm  thinking." 

As  these  words  were  uttered,  Marble  appeared  on  deck, 
and  waved  his  hat,  again,  in  recognition.  This  was 
enough ;  as  we  understood  each  other,  the  two  ships  took 
sufficient  room,  and  hove-to.  We  lowered  our  boat,  and 
Talcott  went  alongside  of  the  Dundee,  in  quest  of  our  old 
shipmate.  Newspapers  and  news  were  exchanged ;  and, 
in  twenty  minutes,  I  had  the  extreme  gratification  of  grasp 
ing  Marble  once  more  by  the  hand. 

My  old  friend  was  too  much  affected  to  speak,  for  some 
little  time.  He  shook  hands  with  everybody,  and  seemed 
as  much  astonished  as  he  was  delighted  at  finding  so  many 
of  us  together  again ;  but  not  a  syllable  did  he  utter  for 
several  minutes.  I  had  his  chest  passed  into  the  cabin, 
and  then  went  and  took  my  seat  alongside  of  him  on  the 
hen-coops,  intending  to  hear  his  story,  as  soon  as  he  was 
disposed  to  give  it.  But,  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  get  out 
of  ear-shot  of  my  passengers.  During  the  gale,  they  had 
been  tongue-tied,  and  I  had  a  little  peace ;  but,  no  sooner 
did  the  wind  and  sea  go  down,  than  they  broke  out  in  the 
old  spot,  and  began  to  do  Boston,  in  the  way  they  had  com 
menced.  Now,  Marble  had  come  on  board,  in  a  manner  so 
unusual,  and  it  was  evident  a  secret  history  was  to  be  re 
vealed,  that  all  three  took  post  in  the  companion-way,  in  a 
manner  to  render  it  impossible  anything  material  could  es 
cape  them.  I  knew  the  folly  of  attempting  a  change  of 
position  on  deck  ;  we  should  certainly  be  followed  up  ;  and, 
people  of  this  class,  so  long  as  they  can  make  the  excuse  of 
saying  they  heard  any  part  of  a  secret,  never  scruple  about 
inventing  the  portions  that  happen  to  escape  their  ears. 
Consequently,  I  desired  Marble  and  Talcott  to  follow  me; 
and,  incontinently,  I  led  the  way  into  the  main-top.  I  was 
obeyed,  the  second-mate  having  the  watch,  and  all  three  of 
us  were  soon  seated  with  our  legs  over  the  top-rim,  as  com 
fortable  as  so  many  gossips,  who  had  just  finished  their  last 
cups,  have  stirred  the  fire,  and  drawn  their  heads  togethei 


412  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

to  open  a  fresh  budget.  Neither  Sarah  nor  Jane  could  fol 
low  us,  thank  God ! 

"  There,  d — n  'em,"  said  I,  a  little  pointedly  ;  for  it  was 
enough  to  make  a  much  more  scrupulous  person  swear, 
11  we  've  got  the  length  of  the  main-rigging  between  us,  and  I 
do  not  think  they'll  venture  into  the  top,  this  fine  morning, 
in  order  to  overhear  what  shall  be  said.  It  would  puzzle 
even  Wallace  Mortimer  to  do  that,  Talcott." 

"  If  they  do,"  observed  Talcott,  laughing,  "  we  can  retreat 
to  the  cross-trees,  and  thence  to  the  royal-yard." 

Marble  looked  inquisitive,  but,  at  the  same  time,  he  look 
ed  knowing. 

"  I  understand,"  he  said,  with  a  nod  ;  "  three  people  with 
six  sets  of  ears — is  it  not  so,  Miles  ?" 

"  Precisely ;  though  you  only  do  them  credit  by  halves, 
for  you  should  have  added  to  this  inventory  forty  tongues." 

"  Well,  that  is  a  large  supply.  The  man,  or  woman,  who 
is  so  well  provided,  should  carry  plenty  of  ballast.  How 
ever,  as  you  say,  they  're  out  of  hail  now,  and  must  guess 
at  all  they  repeat,  if  repeating  it  can  be  called." 

"  Quite  as  much  as  nine-tenths  of  what  they  give  as  com 
ing  from  others,"  observed  Talcott.  "  People  never  can  tell 
so  much  of  other  person's  affairs,  without  bailing  out  most 
of  their  ideas  from  their  own  scuttle-butts." 

"  Well,  let  them  go  to Bordeaux  —  "  said  I,  "  since 

they  are  bound  there.  And  now,  my  dear  Marble,  here  we 
are,  and  dying  to  know  all  that  has  happened  to  you.  You 
have  firm  friends  in  Talcott  and  myself;  either  of  us,  ready 
to  give  you  his  berth  for  the  asking." 

"  Thank  'ee,  my  dear  boys — thank  'ee,  with  all  my  heart 
and  soul,"  returned  the  honest  fellow,  dashing  the  moisture 
from  his  eyes,  with- the  back  of  his  hand.  "I  believe  you 
would,  boys;  I  do  believe  you  would,  one  or  both.  I  am 
glad,  Miles,  you  came  up  into  this  bloody  top,  for  I  would  n't 
like  to  let  your  reg'lar  'long-shore  harpies  see  a  man  of  my 
time  of  life,  and  one  that  has  been  to  sea,  now,  man  and 
boy,  close  on  to  forty  years,  with  as  much  blubber  about 
him,  as  one  of  your  right  whales.  Well  —  and  now  for  the 
log;  for  I  suppose  you'll  insist  on  overhauling  it,  lads?" 

"  That  we  shall  ;  and  see  you  miss  no  leaf  of  it.  Be  a8 
particular  as  if  it  were  overhauled  in  an  insurance  case." 


AFLOAT     AtfD     ASHORE,  413 

"  Ay ;  they're  bloody  knaves,  sometimes,  them  under 
Writers ;  and  a  fellow  need  be  careful  to  get  his  dues  out  of 
them  —  that  is  to  say,  some ;  others,  ag'in,  are  gentlemen, 
down  to  their  shoe-buckles,  and  no  sooner  see  a  poor  ship 
wrecked  devil,  than  they  open  their  tills,  and  begin  to  count 
out,  before  he  has  opened  his  mouth." 

"  Well,  but  your  own  adventures,  my  old  friend ;  you 
forget  we  are  dying  with  curiosity." 

«  Ay  —  your  cur'osity  's  a  troublesome  inmate,  and  will 
never  be  quiet  as  long  as  one  tries  to  keep  it  under  hatches ; 
especially  female  cur'osity.  Well,  I  must  gratify  you; 
and  so  I  '11  make  no  more  bones  about  it,  though  its  giving 
an  account  of  my  own  obstinacy  and  folly.  I  reckon,  now, 
my  boys,  you  missed  me  the  day  the  ship  sailed  from  the 
island?" 

"  That  we  did,  and  supposed  you  had  got  tired  of  your 
experiment  before  it  began,"  I  answered,  "  so  were  off,  be 
fore  we  were  ourselves." 

"  You  had  reason  for  so  thinking ;  though  you  were  out 
in  your  reckoning,  too.  No ;  it  happened  in  this  fashion. 
After  you  left  me,  I  began  to  generalize  over  my  sitiation, 
and  I  says  to  myself,  says  I,  *  Moses  Marble,  them  lads  will 
never  consent  to  sail  and  leave  you  here,  on  this  island, 
alone  like  a  bloody  hermit,'  says  I.  *  If  you  want  to  hold 
on,'  says  I,  '  and  try  your  hand  at  a  hermitage,'  says  I, 
*  or  to  play  Robinson  Crusoe,'  says  I,  l  you  must  be  out  of 
the  way  when  the  Crisis  sails'  —  boys,  what's  become  of 
the  old  ship?  Not  a  word  have  I  heard  about  her,  yet!" 

"  She  was  loading  for  London,  when  we  sailed,  her  own 
ers  intending  to  send  her  the  same  voyage  over  again." 

"  And  they  refused  to  let  you  have  her,  Miles,  on  account 
of  your  youth,  notwithstanding  all  you  did  for  them?" 

"  Not  so ;  they  pressed  me  to  keep  her,  but  I  preferred  a 
ship  of  my  own.  The  Dawn  is  my  property,  Master  Moses !" 

"Thf  ink  God  !  then  there  is  one  honest  chap  among  the 
owners,  And  how  did  she  behave  ?  Had  you  any  trouble 
with  the  pirates?" 

Perceiving  the  utter  uselessness  of  attempting  to  hear  his 

own  story  before  I  rendered  an  account  of  the  Crisis  and 

her  exploits,  I  gave  Marble  a  history  of  our  voyage,  from 

the  lime  we  parted  down  to  the  day  we  reached  New  York. 

35* 


414  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  And  that  scaramouch  of  a  schooner  that  the  Frenchman 
gave  us,  in  his  charity  ?" 

"  The  Pretty  Poll !  She  got  home  safe,  was  sold,  and  is 
now  in  the  West-India  trade.  There  is  a  handsome  balance, 
amounting  to  some  fourteen  hundred  dollars,  in  the  owners' 
hands,  coming  to  you  from  prize-money  and  wages." 

It  is  not  in  nature,  for  any  man  to  be  sorry  he  has 
money.  I  saw  by  Marble's  eyes,  that  this  sum,  so  unu 
sually  large  for  him  to  possess,  formed  a  new  tie  to  the 
world,  and  that  he  fancied  himself  a  much  happier  man  in 
possessing  it.  He  looked  at  me  earnestly,  for  quite  a 
minute,  and  then  remarked,  I  make  no  doubt  with  sincere 
regret  — 

"  Miles,  if  I  had  a  mother  living,  now,  that  money  might 
make  her  old  age  comfortable !  It  seems  that  they  who 
have  no  mothers,  have  money,  and  they  who  have  no  money, 
have  mothers." 

I  waited  a  moment  for  Marble  to  recover  his  self-com 
mand,  and  then  urged  him  to  continue  his  story. 

"  I  was  telling  you  how  I  generalized  over  my  sitiation," 
resumed  the  ex-mate,  "  as  soon  as  I  found  myself  alone  in 
the  hut.  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  should  be  carried 
off  by  force,  if  I  remained  till  next  day ;  and  so  I  got  into  tho 
launch,  carried  her  out  of  the  lagoon,  taking  care  to  give 
the  ship  a  berth,  went  through  the  reef,  and  kept  turning  to 
windward,  until  day-break.  By  that  time,  the  island  was 
quite  out  of  sight,  though  I  saw  the  upper  sails  of  the  ship, 
as  soon  as  you  got  her  under  way.  I  kept  the  top-gallant- 
sails  in  sight,  until  I  made  the  island,  again  ;  and  as  you  went 
off,  I  ran  in,  and  took  possession  of  my  dominions,  with  no 
one  to  dispute  my  will,  or  to  try  to  reason  me  out  of  my 
consait." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  term  that  notion  a  conceit,  for, 
certainly,  it  was  not  reason.  You  soon  discovered  your 
mistake,  my  old  mess-mate,  and  began  to  think  of  home." 

"  I  soon  discovered,  Miles,  that  if  I  had  neither  father, 
nor  mother,  brother  nor  sister,  that  I  had  a  country  and 
friends.  The  bit  of  marble  on  which  I  was  found  in  the 
stone-cutter's  yard,  then  seemed  as  dear  to  me  as  a  gold 
cradle  is  to  a  king's  son ;  and  I  thought  of  you,  and  all  tho 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  415 

rest  of  you  —  nay,  I  yearned  after  you,  as  a  mother  would 
yearn  for  her  children." 

"  Poor  fellow,  you  were  solitary  enough,  I  dare  say — had 
you  no  amusement  with  your  pigs  and  poultry  ?" 

"  For  a  day  or  two,  they  kept  me  pretty  busy.  But,  by 
the  end  of  a  week,  I  discovered  that  pigs  and  poultry  were 
not  made  to  keep  company  with  man.  I  had  consaited  that 
I  could  pass  the  rest  of  my  days  in  the  bosom  of  my  own 
family,  like  any  other  man  who  had  made  his  fortune  and 
retired  ;  but,  I  found  my  household  too  small  for  such  a  life 
as  that.  My  great  mistake  was  in  supposing  that  the  Mar 
ble  family  could  be  happy  in  its  own  circle." 

This  was  said  bitterly,  though  it  was  said  drolly,  and, 
while  it  made  Talcott  and  myself  laugh,  it  also  made  us 
sorry. 

"  I  fell  into  another  mistake,  however,  boys,"  Marble 
continued,  "  and  it  might  as  well  be  owned.  I  took  it  into 
my  head  that  I  should  be  all  alone  on  the  island,  but  I  found 
to  my  cost,  that  the  devil  insisted  on  having  his  share.  I  'II 
(ell  you  how  it  is,  Miles ;  a  man  must  either  look  ahead,  or 
look  astarn ;  there  is  no  such  thing  as  satisfying  himself 
with  the  present  moorings.  Now,  this  was  my  misfortune ; 
for,  ahead  I  had  nothing  to  look  forward  to ;  and  astarn, 
what  comfort  had  I  in  overhauling  past  sins  !" 

"  I  think  I  can  understand  your  difficulties,  my  friend ; 
how  did  you  manage  to  get  rid  of  them  T' 

"  I  left  the  island.  You  had  put  the  Frenchman's  launch 
in  capital  condition,  and  all  I  had  to  do  was  to  fill  up  the 
breakers  with  fresh  water,  kill  a  hog  and  salt  him  away, 
put  on  board  a  quantity  of  biscuit,  and  be  off.  As  for  eata 
bles,  you  know  there  was  no  scarcity  on  the  island,  and  I 
took  my  choice.  I  make  no  doubt  there  are  twenty  hogs 
heads  of  undamaged  sugars,  at  this  very  moment,  in  the 
hold  of  that  wreck,  and  on  the  beach  of  the  island.  I  fed 
my  poultry  on  it,  the  whole  time  I  staid." 

"  And  so  you  abandoned  Marble  Land  to  the  pigs  and  the 
fowls  r 

"  I  did,  indeed,  Miles ;  and  I  hope  the  poor  creaturs  will 
have  a  comfortable  time  of  it.  I  gave  'em  what  the  lawyers 
call  a  quit-claim,  and  sailed  two  months  to  a  day  after  you 
went  off  in  the  Crisis." 


416  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  I  should  think,  old  shipmate,  that  your  voyage  must 
have  been  as  solitary  and  desperate  as  your  life  ashore." 

"  I  'm  amazed  to  hear  you  say  that.  I  'm  never  solitary 
at  sea,  one  has  so  much  to  do  in  taking  care  of  his  craft ; 
and  then  he  can  always  look  forward  to  tbe  day  he  '11  get  ia. 
But  this  generalizing,  night  and  day,  without  any  port 
ahead,  and  little  comfort  in  looking  astarn,  will  soon  fit  a 
man  for  Bedlam.  I  just  weathered  Cape  Crazy,  I  can  tell 
you,  lads;  and  that,  too,  in  tbe  white  water!  As  for  my 
v'y'ge  being  desperate,  what  was  there  to  make  it  so,  I 
should  like  to  know?" 

"You  must  have  been  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  miles 
from  any  island  where  you  could  look  forward  to  anything 
like  safety ;  and  that  is  a  distance  one  would  rather  not 
travel  all  alone  on  the  high  seas." 

"  Pshaw !  all  consait.  You  're  getting  notional,  Miles, 
now  you  're  a  master  and  owner.  What 's  a  run  of  a  thou 
sand  or  fifteen  hundred  miles,  in  a  tight  boat,  and  with  plenty 
of  grub  and  water1?  It  was  the  easiest  matter  in  the  world ; 
and  if  it  warn't  for  that  bloody  Cape  Horn,  I  should  have 
made  as  straight  a  wake  for  Coenties'  Slip,  as  the  trending 
of  the  land  would  have  allowed.  As  it  was,  I  turned  to 
windward,  for  I  knew  the  savages  to  leeward  weren't  to  be 
trusted.  You  see,  it  was  as  easy  as  working  out  a  day's 
work.  I  kept  the  boat  on  a  wind  all  day,  and  long  bits  of 
the  night,  too,  until  I  wanted  sleep ;  and  then  I  hove  her  to, 
under  a  reefed  mainsail,  and  slept  as  sound  as  a  lord.  I 
hadn't  an  uncomfortable  moment,  after  I  got  outside  of  the 
reef  again  ;  and  the  happiest  hour  of  my  life  was  that  in 
which  I  saw  the  tree-tops  of  tbe  island  dip." 

"  And  how  long  were  you  navigating  in  this  manner,  and 
what  land  did  you  first  make  ?" 

"  Seven  weeks,  though  I  made  half  a  dozen  islands,  every 
one  of  them  just  such  a  looking  object  as  that  I  had  left. 
You  weren't  about  to  catch  me  ashore  again  in  any  of  them 
miserable  places  !  I  gave  the  old  boat  a  slap,  and  promised 
to  stick  by  her  as  long  as  she  would  stick  by  me,  and  I  kepi 
my  word.  I  saw  savages,  moreover,  on  one  or  two  of  the 
islands,  and  gave  them  a  berth,  having  no  fancy  for  being 
barbacued." 

"  And  where  d'.d  you  finally  make  your  land-fall  1" 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  417 

44  Nowhere,  so  far  as  the  launch  was  concerned.  I  fell 
in  with  a  Manilla  ship,  bound  to  Valparaiso,  and  got  on  board 
her ;  ami  sorry  enough  was  I  for  the  change,  when  I  came 
to  find  out  how  they  lived.  The  captain  took  me  in,  how 
ever,  and  I  worked  my  passage  into  port.  Finding  no  ship 
likely  to  sail  soon,  I  entered  with  a  native  who  was  about  to 
cross  the  Andes,  bound  over  on  this  side,  for  the  east  coast. 
Don't  you  remember,  Miles,  monsters  of  mountains  that  we 
could  see,  a  bit  inland,  and  covered  with  snow,  all  along  the 
west  side  of  South  America  1  You  must  remember  the  chaps 
I  mean  7" 

"  Certainly — they  are  much  too  plainj  and  objects  much 
too  striking,  ever  to  be  forgotten,  when  once  seen." 

"  Well,  them's  the  Andes;  and  rough  customers  they  be, 
let  me  tell  you,  boys.  You  know  there  is  little  amusement 
in  a  sailor's  walking  on  the  levellest  'arth  and  handsomest 
highways,  on  account  of  the  bloody  ups  and  downs  a  fellow 
meets  with ;  and  so  you  may  get  some  idee  of  the  time  we 
had  of  it,  when  I  tell  you,  had  all  the  seas  we  saw  in  the 
last  blow  been  piled  on  top  of  each  other,  they  would  have 
made  but  a  large  pancake,  compared  to  them  'ere  Andes. 
Natur'  must  have  outdone  herself  in  making  'em  ;  and  when 
they  were  thrown  together,  what  good  comes  of  it  all  1  Such 
mountains  might  be  of  some  use  in  keeping  the  French  and 
English  apart ;  but  you  leave  nothing  but  bloody  Spaniards 
on  one  side  of  them  Andes,  and  find  bloody  Spaniards  and 
Portugeese  on  the  other.  However,  we  found  our  way  over 
them,  and  brought  up  at  a  place  called  Buenos  Ayres,  from 
which  I  worked  my  passage  round  to  Rio  in  a  coaster.  At 
Rio,  you  know,  I  felt  quite  at  home,  having  stopped  in  there 
often,  in  going  backward  and  forward." 

•'  And  thence  you  took  passage  in  the  Dundee  for  London, 
intending  to  get  a  passage  home  by  the  first  opportunity  ?" 

"  It  needs  no  witch  to  tell  that.  I  had  to  scull  about  Rio 
for  several  months,  doing  odd  jobs  as  a  rigger,  and  the  like 
of  that,  until,  finding  no  Yankee  came  in,  I  got  a  passage  in 
a  Scotchman.  I  '11  not  complain  of  Sawney,  who  was  kind 
enough  to  me  as  a  shipwrecked  mariner ;  for  that  was  the 
character  I  sailed  under,  hermits  being  no  way  fashionable 
among  us  Protestants,  though  it 's  very  different  among  them 
Catholic  chaps,  I  can  tell  you.  I  happened  to  mention  to  a 


418  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

landlady  on  the  road,  that  I  was  a  sort  of  a  hermit  on  his 
travels  ;  when  I  thought  the  poor  woman  wojld  have  gone 
down  on  her  knees  and  worshipped  me." 

Here  then  was  the  history  of  Moses  Marble,  and  the  end 
of  the  colony  of  Marble  Land,  pigs  and  poultry  excepted. 
It  was  now  my  turn  to  be  examined.  I  had  to  answer  fifty 
curious  inquiries,  some  of  which  I  found  sufficiently  embar 
rassing.  When,  in  answer  to  his  interrogatories,  Marble 
learned  that  the  Major  and  Miss  Merton  had  actually  been 
left  at  Clawbonny,  I  saw  the  ex-mate  wink  at  Talcott,  who 
smiled  in  reply.  Then,  where  was  Rupert,  and  how  came 
on  the  law  ?  The  farm  and  mills  were  not  forgotten  ;  and, 
as  for  Neb,  he  was  actually  ordered  up  into  the  top,  in  order 
that  there  might  be  another  shake  of  the  hand,  and  that  he 
might  answer  for  himself.  In  a  word,  nothing  could  be 
more  apparent  than  the  delight  of  Marble  at  finding  himself 
among  us  once  more.  I  believed  even  then,  that  the  man 
really  loved  me ;  and  the  reader  will  remember  how  long 
we  had  sailed  together,  and  how  much  we  had  seen  in  com 
pany.  More  than  once  did  my  old  shipmate  dash  the  tears 
from  his  eyes,  as  he  spoke  of  his  satisfaction. 

"  I  say,  Miles  —  I  say,  Roger,"  he  cried  —  "  this  is  like 
being  at  home,  and  none  of  your  bloody  hermitages  !  Blast 
me,  if  I  think,  now,  I  should  dare  pass  through  a  wood  all 
alone.  I'm  never  satisfied  unless  I  see  a  fellow-creatur', 
for  fear  of  being  left.  1  did  pretty  well  with  the  Scotchman, 
who  has  a  heart,  though  it 's  stowed  away  in  oatmeal,  but 
this  is  home.  I  must  ship  as  your  steward,  Miles,  for  hang 
on  to  you  I  will." 

"  If  we  ever  part,  again,  until  one  or  both  go  into  dock, 
it  will  be  your  fault,  my  old  friend.  If  I  have  thought  of 
you  once,  since  we  parted,  I  have  dreamed  of  you  fifty 
times !  Talcott  and  I  were  talking  of  you  in  the  late  gale, 
and  wondering  what  sail  you  would  advise  us  to  put  the  ship 
under." 

"  The  old  lessons  have  not  all  been  forgotten,  boys ;  it 
was  easy  enough  to  see  that.  I  said  to  myself,  as  you  stood 
down  upon  us,  '  that  chap  has  a  real  sea-dog  aboard,  as  is 
plain  by  the  manner  in  which  he  has  everything  snug, 
while  he  walks  ahead  like  an  owner  in  a  hurry  to  be  first  in 
the  market.' 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  419 

It  was  then  agreed  Marble  should  keep  a  watch,  when 
ever  it  suited  him,  and  that  he  should  do  just  as  he  pleased 
aboard.  At  some  future  day,  some  other  arrangement  might 
be  made,  though  he  declared  his  intention  to  stick  by  the 
ship,  and  also  announced  a  determination  to  be  my  first- 
mate  for  life,  as  soon  as  Talcott  got  a  vessel,  as  doubtless 
he  would,  through  the  influence  of  his  friends,  as  soon  as  he 
returned  home.  I  laughed  at  all  this,  though  I  bade  him 
heartily  welcome,  and  then  I  nick-named  him  commodore, 
adding  that  he  should  sail  with  me  in  that  capacity,  doing 
just  as  much,  and  just  as  little  duty  as  he  pleased.  As  for 
money,  there  was  a  bag  of  dollars  in  the  cabin,  and  he  had 
only  to  put  his  hand  in,  and  take  what  he  wanted.  The 
key  of  the  locker  was  in  my  pocket,  and  could  be  had  for 
asking.  Nobody  was  more  delighted  with  this  arrangement 
than  Neb,  who  had  even  taken  a  fancy  to  Marble,  from  the 
moment  when  the  latter  led  him  up  from  the  steerage  of  the 
John,  by  the  ear. 

"  I  say,  Miles,  what  sort  of  bloody  animals  are  them 
passengers  of  your's  ?"  Marble  next  demanded,  looking  over 
the  rim  of  the  top,  down  at  the  trio  on  deck,  with  a  good 
deal  of  curiosity  expressed  in  his  countenance.  "  This  is 
the  first  time  I  ever  knew  a  ship-master  driven  aloft  by  his 
passengers,  in  order  to  talk  secrets !" 

"  That  is  because  you  never  sailed  with  the  Brigham 
family,  my  friend.  They  'II  pump  you  till  you  suck,  in  the 
first  twenty-four  hours,  rely  on  it.  They  '11  get  every  fact 
about  your  birth,  the  island  where  you  first  saw  me,  what 
you  have  been  about,  and  what  you  mean  to  do ;  in  a  word, 
the  past,  present,  and  future." 

"  Leave  me  to  overlay  their  cur'osity,"  answered  the  ex- 
mate,  or  new  commodore — "I  got  my  hand  in,  by  boarding 
six  weeks  with  a  Connecticut  old  maid,  once,  and  I  '11  defy 
the  keenest  questioner  of  them  all." 

We  had  a  little  more  discourse,  when  we  all  went  below, 
and  I  introduced  Marble  to  my  passengers,  as  one  who  was 
to  join  our  mess.  After  this,  things  went  on  in  their  usual 
train.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  however,  I  overheard  the 
following  brief  dialogue  between  Brigham  an.d  Marble,  the 
ladies  being  much  too  delicate  to  question  so  rough  a  ma 
riner. 


420  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  You  came  on  board  us,  somewhat  unexpectedly,  I  ra 
ther  conclude,  Captain  Marble  ?"  commenced  the  gentleman. 

"  Not  in  the  least ;  I  have  been  expecting  to  meet  the 
Dawn,  just  about  this  spot,  more  than  a  month,  now." 

*'  Well,  that  is  odd !  I  do  not  comprehend  how  such  a 
thing  could  well  be  foreseen  ?" 

"  Do  you  understand  spherical  trigonometry,  sir?" 

"  I  cannot  say  I  am  at  all  expert  —  I  've  looked  into  ma 
thematics,  but  have  no  great  turn  for  the  study." 

"  It  would  be  hopeless,  then,  to  attempt  to  explain  the 
matter.  If  you  had  your  hand  in  at  the  spherical,  I  could 
make  it  all  as  plain  as  the  capstan." 

"  You  and  Captain  Wallingford  must  be  somewhat  old 
acquaintances,  I  conclude  ?" 

"  Somewhat,"  answered  Marble,  very  drily. 

"  Have  you  ever  been  at  the  place  that  he  calls  Claw- 
bonny  1  A  queer  name,  I  rather  think,  Captain  !" 

"  Not  at  all,  sir.  I  know  a  place,  down  in  the  Eastern 
States,  that  was  called  Scratch  and  Claw,  and  a  very  pretty 
spot  it  was." 

"  It 's  not  usual  for  us  to  the  eastward,  to  give  names  to 
farms  and  places.  It  is  done  a  little  by  the  Boston  folk,  but 
they  are  notional,  as  everybody  knows." 

"  Exactly  ;  I  suppose  it  was  for  want  of  use,  the  chap  1 
mean  made  out  no  better  in  naming  his  place." 

Mr.  Brigham  was  no  fool ;  he  was  merely  a  gossip.  He 
took  the  hint,  and  asked  no  more  questions  of  Marble.  He 
tried  Neb,  notwithstanding ;  but  the  black  having  his  orders, 
obeyed  them  so  literally,  that  I  really  believe  we  parted  in 
Bordeaux,  a  fortnight  later,  without  any  of  the  family's 
making  the  least  discovery.  Glad  enough  was  I  to  get  rid 
of  them ;  yet,  brief  as  had  been  our  intercourse,  they  pro 
duced  a  sensible  influence  on  my  future  happiness.  Such 
is  the  evil  of  this  habit  of  loose  talking,  men  giving  credit  to 
words  conceived  in  ignorance  and  uttered  in  the  indulgence 
of  one  of  the  most  contemptible  of  all  our  propensities.  To 
,  return  to  my  ship. 

We  reached  Bordeaux  without  any  further  accident,  or 
delay.  I  discharged  in  the  usual  way,  and  began  to  look 
about  me,  for  another  freight.  It  had  been  my  intention  to 
return  to  New  York,  and  to  keep  the  festivities  of  attaining 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  421 

tny  majority,  at  Clawbonny  ;  but,  I  confess  the  discourse  of 
these  eternal  gossips,  the  Brighams,  had  greatly  lessened 
the  desire  to  see  home  again,  so  soon  A  freight  for  New 
York  was  offered  me,  but  I  postponed  an  answer,  until  it 
was  given  to  another  ship.  At  length  an  offer  was  made 
me  to  go  to  Cronstadt,  in  Russia,  with  a  cargo  of  wines  and 
brandies,  and  I  accepted  it.  The  great  and  better  informed 
merchants,  as  it  would  seem,  distrusted  the  continuance  of 
the  hollow  peace  that  then  existed,  and  a  company  of  them 
thought  it  might  be  well  to  transfer  their  liquors  to  the  capi 
tal  of  the  czar,  in  readiness  for  contingencies.  An  American 
ship  was  preferred,  on  account  of  her  greater  speed,  as  well 
as  on  account  of  her  probable  neutral  character,  in  the 
event  of  troubles  occurring  at  any  unlooked-for  moment. 

The  Dawn  took  in  her  wines  and  brandies  accordingly, 
and  sailed  for  the  Baltic  about  the  last  of  August.  She  had 
a  long,  but  a  safe  passage,  delivering  the  freight  according 
to  the  charter-party,  in  good  condition.  While  at  Cronstadt, 
the  American  consul,  and  the  consignees  of  an  American 
ship  that  had  lost  her  master  and  chief-mate  by  the  small 
pox,  applied  to  me  to  let  Marble  carry  the  vessel  home.  I 
pressed  the  offer  on  my  old  friend,  but  he  obstinately  refused 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  vessel.  I  then  recommended 
Talcolt,  and  after  some  negotiation,  the  latter  took  charge 
of  the  Hyperion.  I  was  sorry  to  part  with  my  mate,  to 
whom  I  had  become  strongly  attached ;  but  the  preferment 
was  so  clearly  to  his  advantage,  that  I  could  take  no  other 
course.  The  vessel  being  ready,  she  sailed  the  day  after 
Falcott  joined  her ;  and,  sorry  am  I  to  be  compelled  to  add, 
that  she  was  never  heard  of,  after  clearing  the  Cattegat. 
The  equinox  of  that  season  was  tremendously  severe,  and  it 
caused  the  loss  of  many  vessels  ;  that  of  the  Hyperion  doubt 
less  among  the  rest. 

Marble  insisted  on  taking  Talcott's  place,  and  he  now  be 
came  my  chief-mate,  as  I  had  once  been  his.  After  a  little 
delay,  I  took  in  freight  on  Russian  government  account,  and 
sailed  for  Odessa.  It  was  thought  the  Sublime  Porte  would 
let  an  American  through ;  but,  after  reaching  the  Darda 
nelles,  I  was  ordered  back,  and  was  obliged  to  leave  my 
cargo  in  Malta,  whbh  it  was  expected  would  be  in  posses 
sion  of  its  own  knights  by  that  time,  agreeably  to  the  terms 
36 


422  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE^ 

of  the  late  treaty.  From  Malta  I  sailed  for  Leghorn,  in 
quest  of  another  freight.  I  pass  over  the  details  of  these 
voyages,  as  really  nothing  worthy  of  being  recorded  oc 
curred.  They  consumed  a  good  deal  of  time ;  the  delay  at 
the  Dardanelles  alone  exceeding  six  weeks,  during  which 
negotiations  were  going  on  up  at  Constantinople,  but  all  in 
vain.  In  consequence  of  all  these  detentions,  and  the  length 
of  the  passages,  I  did  not  reach  Leghorn  until  near  the  close 
of  March.  1  wrote  to  Grace  and  Mr.  Hardinge,  whenever 
a  favourable  occasion  offered,  but  I  did  not  get  a  letter  from 
home,  during  the  whole  period.  It  was  not  in  the  power  of 
my  sister  or  guardian  —  late  guardian  would  be  the  most 
accurate  expression,  as  I  had  been  of  age  since  the  previous 
October  —  to  write,  it  being  impossible  for  me  to  let  them 
know  when,  or  where,  a  letter  would  find  me.  It  followed, 
that  while  my  friends  at  home  were  kept  tolerably  apprised 
of  my  movements,  I  was  absolutely  in  the  dark  as  respected 
them.  That  this  ignorance  gave  me  great  concern,  it  would 
be  idle  to  deny ;  yet,  I  had  a  species  of  desperate  satisfac 
tion  in  keeping  aloof,  and  in  leaving  the  course  clear  to  Mr. 
Andrew  Drewett.  As  respects  substantials,  I  had  sent  a 
proper  power  of  attorney  to  Mr.  Hardinge,  who,  I  doubted 
not,  would  take  the  same  care  of  my  temporal  interests  he 
had  never  ceased  to  do  since  the  day  of  my  beloved  mo 
ther's  death. 

Freights  were  not  offering  freely  at  Leghorn,  when  the 
Dawn  arrived.  After  waiting  a  fortnight,  however,  I  began 
to  take  in  for  America,  and  on  American  account.  In  the 
meantime,  the  cargo  coming  to  hand  slowly,  I  left  Marble 
to  receive  it,  and  proceeded  on  a  little  excursion  in  Tuscany, 
or  Etruria,  as  that  part  of  the  world  was  then  called.  I 
visited  Pisa,  Lucca,  Florence,  and  several  other  interme 
diate  towns.  At  Florence,  I  passed  a  week  looking  at  sights, 
and  amusing  myself  the  best  way  I  could.  The  gallery 
and  the  churches  kept  me  pretty  busy,  and  the  reader  will 
judge  of  my  surprise  one  day,  at  hearing  my  own  name 
uttered  on  a  pretty  high  key,  by  a  female  voice,  in  the  Duo- 
mo,  or  Cathedral  of  the  place.  On  turning,  I  found  myself 
in  the  presence  of  the  Brighams  !  I  was  overwhelmed  with 
questions  in  a  minute.  Where  had  I  been?  Where  was 
Talcott  ?  Where  was  the  ship  1  When  did  I  sail,  and  whither 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  423 

did  I  sail]  After  this  came  the  communications.  They 
had  been  to  Paris ;  had  seen  the  French  Consul,  and  had 
dined  with  Mr.  R.  N.  Livingston,  then  negotiating  the  treaty 
of  Louisiana;  had  seen  the  Louvre;  had  been  to  Geneva ; 
had  seen  the  Lake;  had  seen  Mont  Blanc;  had  crossed 
Mont  Cents  ;  had  been  at  Milan  ;  Rome  ;  had  seen  the  Pope ; 
Naples ;  had  seen  Vesuvius ;  had  been  at  Paestum ;  had 
come  back  to  Florence,  and  nous  void  !  Gla'cl  enough  was 
I,  when  I  got  them  fairly  within  the  gates  of  the  City  of  the 
Lily.  Next  came  America  ;  from  which  part  of  the  world 
they  received  suck  delightful  letters  !  One  from  Mrs.  Jona 
than  Little,  a  Salem  lady  then  residing  in  New  York,  had 
just  reached  them.  It  contained  four  sheets,  and  was  full 
of  news.  Then  commenced  the  details  ;  and  I  was  com 
pelled  to  listen  to  a  string  of  gossip  that  connected  nearly  all 
the  people  of  mark,  my  informants  had  ever  heard  of  in  the 
great  Commercial  Emporium  that  was  to  be.  How  suitable 
is  this  name  !  Emporium  would  not  have  been  sufficiently 
distinctive  for  a  town  in  which  "  the  merchants"  are  all  in 
all ;  in  which  they  must  have  the  post-office ;  in  which  they 
support  the  nation  by  paying  all  the  revenue ;  in  which  the 
sun  must  shine  and  the  dew  fall  to  suit  their  wants  ;  and  in 
which  the  winds,  themselves,  may  be  recreant  to  their  duty, 
when  they  happen  to  be  foul !  Like  the  Holy  Catholic  Pro 
testant  Episcopal  Church,  Trading  Commercial  Trafficking 
Emporium  should  have  been  the  style  of  such  a  place ;  and 
I  hope,  ere  long,  some  of  the  "  Manor  Born"  genii  of  that 
great  town,  will  see  the  matter  rectified. 

"  By  the  way,  Captain  Wallingford,"  cut  in  Jane,  at  one 
of  Sarah's  breathing  intervals,  that  reminded  me  strongly  of 
the  colloquial  Frenchman's  "  a'f'Z  crache  il  est  perdu"  "  You 
know  something  of  poor  Mrs.  Bradfort,  I  believe?" 

I  assented  by  a  bow. 

"  It  was  just  as  we  told  you,"  cried  Sarah,  taking  her  re 
venge.  "  The  poor  woman  is  dead!  and,  no  doubt,  of  that 
cancer.  What  a  frightful  disease !  and  how  accurate  has 
our  information  been,  in  all  that  affair !" 

"  I  think  her  will  the  most  extraordinary  of  all,"  added 
Mr.  Brigham,  who,  as  a  man,  kept  an  eye  more  to  the  main 
chance.  "  I  suppose  you  have  heard  all  about  her  will 
Captain  Wallingford?" 


424  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

I  reminded  the  gentleman  that  this  was  the  first  I  had 
ever  heard  of  the  lady's  death. 

"  She  has  left  every  dollar  to  young  Mr.  Ha^dinge,  her 
cousin's  son ;"  added  Jane,  "  cutting  off  that  handsome, 
genteel,  young  lady  his  sister,  as  well  as  her  father,  without 
a  cent" — in  1803,  they  just  began  to  speak  of  cents,  instead 
of  farthings — "  and  everybody  says  it  was  so  cruel !" 

"  That  is  not  the  worst  of  it,"  put  in  Sarah.  "  They  do 
say,  Miss  Merton,  the  English  lady  that  made  so  much 
noise  in  New  York — let  me  see,  Mr.  Brigham,  what  Earl's 
grand-daughter  did  we  hear  she  was  1 — " 

This  was  a  most  injudicious  question,  as  it  gave  the  hus 
band  an  opportunity  to  take  the  word  out  of  her  mouth. 

"  Lord  Cumberland's,  I  believe,  or  some  such  person  — 
but,  no  matter  whose.  It  is  quite  certain,  General  Merton, 
her  father,  consents  to  let  her  marry  young  Mr.  Hardinge, 
now  Mrs.  Bradfort's  will  is  known ;  and,  as  for  the  sister, 
he  declares  he  will  never  give  her  a  dollar." 

"  He  will  have  sixteen  thousand  dollars  a  year,"  said 
Jane,  with  emphasis. 

"  Six,  my  dear,  six" — returned  the  brother,  who  had  rea 
sonably  accurate  notions  touching  dollars  and  cents,  or  he 
never  would  have  been  travelling  in  Italy  ;  "  six  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  was  just  Mrs.  Bradfort's  income,  as  my  old 
school-fellow  Upham  told  me,  and  there  isn't  another  man 
in  York,  who  can  tell  fortunes  as  true  as  himself.  He  makes 
a  business  of  it,  and  don't  fail  one  time  in  twenty." 

"And  is  it  quite  certain  that  Mr.  Rupert  Hardinge  gets 
all  the  fortune  of  Mrs.  Bradfort?"  I  asked,  with  a  strong 
effort  to  seem  composed. 

"  Not  the  least  doubt  of  it,  in  the  world.  Everybody  is 
talking  about  it ;  and  there  cannot  well  be  a  mistake,  you 
know,  as  it  was  thought  the  sister  would  be  an  heiress,  and 
people  generally  take  care  to  be  pretty  certain  about  that 
class.  But,  of  course,  a  young  man  with  that  fortune  will 
be  snapped  up,  as  a  swallow  catches  a  fly.  I  've  bet  Sarah 
a  pair  of  gloves  we  hear  of  his  marriage  in  three  months." 

The  Brighams  talked  an  hour  longer,  and  made  me  pro 
mise  to  visit  them  at  their  hotel,  a  place  I  could  not  succeed 
in  finding.  That  evening,  I  left  Florence  for  Leghorn, 
writing  a  note  of  apology,  in  order  not  to  be  rude.  Of 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  425 

course,  I  did  not  believe  half  these  people  had  told  me ;  but 
a  part,  I  made  no  doubt,  was  true.  JVlrs.  Bradfort  was  dead, 
out  of  all  question ;  and  I  thought  it  possible  she  might  not 
so  far  have  learned  to  distinguish  between  the  merit  of 
Lucy,  and  that  of  Ruper!,  to  leave  her  entire  fortune  to  the 
last.  As  for  the  declaration  of  the  brother  that  he  would 
give  his  sister  nothing,  that  seemed  to  me  to  be  rather  strong 
for  even  Rupert.  I  knew  the  dear  girl  too  well,  and  was 
certain  she  would  not  repine ;  and  I  was  burning  with  the 
desire  to  be  in  the  field,  now  she  was  again  penniless. 

What  a  change  was  this !  Here  were  the  Hardinges, 
those  whom  I  had  known  as  poor  almost  as  dependants  on 
my  own  family,  suddenly  enriched.  I  knew  Mrs.  Bradlort 
had  a  large  six  thousand  a  year,  besides  her  own  dwelling- 
house,  which  stood  in  Wall  Street,  a  part  of  the  commercial 
emporium  that  was  just  beginning  to  be  the  focus  of  bank 
ing,  and  all  other  monied  operations,  and  which  even  then 
promised  to  become  a  fortune  of  itself.  It  is  true,  that  old 
Daniel  M'Cormick  still  held  his  levees  on  his  venerable 
stoop,  where  all  the  heavy  men  in  town  used  to  congregate, 
and  joke,  and  buy  and  sell,  and  abuse  Boney ;  and  lhat  the 
Winthrops,  the  Wilkeses,  the  Jaunceys,  the  Verplancks,  the 
Whites,  the  Ludlows,  and  other  families  of  mark,  then  had 
their  town  residences  in  this  well-known  street ;  but  coming 
events  were  beginning  "  to  cast  their  shadows  before,"  and 
it  was  easy  to  foresee  that  this  single  dwelling  might  at  least 
double  Rupert's  income,  under  the  rapid  increase  of  the 
country  and  the  town.  Though  Lucy  was  still  poor,  Ru 
pert  was  now  rich. 

If  family  connection,  that  all-important  and  magical 
influence,  could  make  so  broad  a  distinction  between  us, 
while  I  was  comparatively  wealthy,  and  Lucy  had  nothing, 
what,  to  regard  the  worst  side  of  the  picture,  might  I  not 
expect  from  it,  when  the  golden  scale  preponderated  on  her 
side.  That  Andrew  Drewett  would  still  marry  her,  I  began 
to  fear  again.  Well,  why  not?  I  had  never  mentioned 
love  to  the  sweet  girl,  fondly,  ardently  as  I  was  attached  to 
her ;  and  what  reason  had  I  for  supposing  that  one  in  her 
situation  could  reserve  her  affections  for  a  truant  sailor  1  I 
am  afraid  I  was  unjust  enough  to  regret  that  this  piece  of 
good  fortune  should  have  befallen  Rupert.  He  must  do 
36* 


426  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

something  for  his  sister,  and  every  dollar  seemed  to  raise  a 
new  barrier  between  us.» 

From  that  hour,  I  was  all  impatience  to  get  home.  Had 
not  the  freight  been  engaged,  I  think  I  should  have  sailed  in 
ballast.  By  urging  the  merchants,  however,  we  got  to  sea 
May  15th,  with  a  full  cargo,  a  portion  of  which  I  had  pur 
chased  on  my  own  account,  with  the  money  earned  by  the 
ship,  within  the  last  ten  months.  Nothing  occurred  worthy 
of  notice,  until  the  Dawn  neared  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar. 
Here  we  were  boarded  by  an  English  frigate,  and  first 
learned  the  declaration  of  a  new  war  between  France  and 
England;  a  contest  that,  in  the  end,  involved  in  it  all  the 
rest  of  Christendom.  Hostilities  had  already  commenced, 
the  First  Consul  having  thrown  aside  the  mask,  just  three 
days  after  we  left  port.  The  frigate  treated  us  well,  it  being 
too  soon  for  the  abuses  that  followed,  and  we  got  through 
the  pass  without  further  molestation. 

As  soon  as  in  the  Atlantic,  I  took  care  to  avoid  every 
thing  we  saw,  and  nothing  got  near  us,  until  we  had  actually 
made  the  Highlands  of  Navesink.  An  English  sloop-of- 
war,  however,  had  stood  into  the  angles  of  the  coast,  formed 
by  Long  Island  and  the  Jersey  shore,  giving  us  a  race  for 
the  Hook.  I  did  not  know  whether  I  ought  to  be  afraid  ot 
this  cruiser,  or  not,  but  my  mind  was  made  up,  not  to  be 
boarded  if  it  could  be  helped.  We  succeeded  in  passing 
ahead,  and  entered  the  Hook,  while  he  was  still  a  mile  out 
side  of  the  bar.  I  got  a  pilot  on  the  bar,  as  was  then  very 
usual,  and  stood  up  towards  the  town  with  studding-sails 
set,  it  being  just  a  twelvemoth,  almost  to  an  hour,  from  the 
day  when  I  passed  up  the  bay  in  the  Crisis.  The  pilot  took 
the  ship  in  near  Coenties  slip,  Marble's  favourite  berth,  and 
we  had  her  secured,  and  her  sails  unbent  before  the  sun 
Ml, 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  427 


CHAPTER  XXYII. 

"With  look  like  patient  Job's,  eschewing  evil; 
With  motions  'graceful  as  a  bird's  in  air ; 
Thou  art,  in  sober  truth,  the  veriest  devil 
That  ere  clinched  fingers  in  a  captive's  hair.  ' 

HALLECK. 

THERE  was  about  an  hour  of  daylight,  when  I  left  the 
compting-house  of  the  consignees,  and  pursued  my  way  up 
Wall  Street  to  Broadway.  I  was  on  my  way  to  the  City 
Hotel,  then,  as  now,  one  of  the  best  inns  of  the  town.  On 
Trinity  Church  walk,  just  as  I  quitted  the  Wall  Street  cross 
ing,  whom  should  I  come  plump  upon  in  turning,  but  Rupert 
Hardinge  ?  He  was  walking  down  the  street  in  some  little 
haste,  and  was  evidently  much  surprised,  perhaps  I  might 
say  startled,  at  seeing  me.  Nevertheless,  Rupert  was  not 
easily  disconcerted,  and  his  manner  at  once  became  warm, 
if  not  entirely  free  from  embarrassment.  He  was  in  deep 
mourning ;  though  otherwise  dressed  in  the  height  of  the 
lash  ion. 

"  Wallingford  !"  he  exclaimed  —  it  was  the  first  time  he 
did  not  call  me  "  Miles," — "  Wallingford  !  my  fine  fellow, 
what  cloud  did  you  drop  from?  —  We  have  had  so  many 
reports  concerning  you,  that  your  appearance  is  as  much 
a  matter  of  surprise,  as  would  be  that  of  Bonaparte,  him 
self.  Of  course,  your  ship  is  in  ?" 

"  Of  course,"  I  answered,  taking  his  offered  hand  ;  "  you 
know  I  am  wedded  to  7/er,  for  better,  for  worse,  until  death 
or  shipwreck  doth  us  part." 

"  Ay,  so  I  've  always  told  the  ladies — '  there  is  no  other 
matrimony  in  Wallingford,'  I  've  said  often,  '  than  that 
which  will  make  him  a  ship's  husband.'  But  you  look  con 
foundedly  well — the  sea  agrees  with  you,  famously." 

"  I  make  no  complaint  of  my  health — but  tell  me  of  that 
of  our  friends  and  families?  Your  father — " 

"  Is  up  at  Clawbonny,  just  now — you  know  how  it  is  with 
him.  No  change  of  circumstances  will  ever  make  him  re- 


428  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

gard  his  little  smoke-house  looking  church,  as  anything  but 
a  cathedral,  and  his  parish  as  a  diocese.  Since  the  great 
change  in  our  circumstances,  all  this  is  useless,  and  I  often 
think — you  know  one  wouldn't  like  to  nay  as  much  to  him — 
but  I  often  think,  he  might  just  as  well  give  up  preaching, 
altogether." 

"  Well,  this  is  good,  so  far — now  for  the  rest  of  you,  all. 
You  meet  my  impatience  too  coldly." 

"  Yes,  you  were  always  an  impatient  fellow.  Why,  I 
suppose  you  need  hardly  be  told  that  I  have  been  admitted 
to  the  bar." 

"  That  I  can  very  well  imagine  —  you  must  have  found 
your  sea-training  of  great  service  on  the  examination." 

"Ah  !  my  dear  Wallingford  —  what  a  simpleton  I  was ! 
But  one  is  so  apt  to  take  up  strange  conceits  in  boyhood, 
that  he  is  compelled  to  look  back  at  them  in  wonder,  in  after 
life.  But,  which  way  are  you  walking  ?" — slipping  an  arm 
in  mine — "  if  up,  I  '11  take  a  short  turn  with  you.  There 's 
scarce  a  soul  in  town,  at  this  season  ;  but  you  '11  see  prodi 
giously  fine  girls  in  Broadway,  at  this  hour,  notwithstand 
ing —  those  that  belong  to  the  other  sets,  you  know  ;  those 
that  belong  to  families  that  can't  get  into  the  country  among 
the  leaves.  Yes,  as  I  was  saying,  one  scarce  knows  him 
self,  after  twenty.  Now,  I  can  hardly  recall  a  taste,  or  an 
inclination,  that  I  cherished  in  my  teens,  that  has  not  flown 
to  the  winds.  Nothing  is  permanent  in  boyhood — we  grow 
in  our  persons,  and  our  minds,  sentiments,  affections,  views, 
hopes,  wishes,  and  ambition ;  all  take  new  directions." 

"  This  is  not  very  flattering,  Rupert,  to  one  whose 
acquaintance  with  you  may  be  said  to  be  altogether  boyish." 

"  Oh  !  of  course  I  don't  mean  that.  Habit  keeps  all 
right  in  such  matters;  and  I  dare  say  I  shall  always  be  as 
much  attached  to  you,  as  I  was  in  childhood.  Still,  we  are 
on  diverging  lines,  now,  and  cannot  for  ever  remain  boys." 

"  You  have  told  me  nothing  of  the  rest,"  I  said,  half 
choked,  in  my  eagerness  to  hear  of  the  girls,  and  yet  unac 
countably  afraid  to  ask.  I  believe  I  dreaded  to  hear  that 
JLucy  was  married.  "  How,  and  where  is  Grace  ?" 

"  Oh  !  Grace  !  —  yes,  I  forgot  her,  to  my  shame,  as  you 
would  naturally  wish  to  inquire.  Why,  my  dear  Captain, 
to  be  as  frank  as  one  ought  with  so  old  an  acquaintance? 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  429 

your  sister  is  not  in  a  good  way,  I  'm  much  afraid  ;  though 
I  've  not  seen  her  in  an  age.  She  was  down  among  us  in 
the  autumn,  but  left  town  for  the  holidays,  for  them  she  in 
sisted  on  keeping  at  Clawbonny,  where  she  said  the  family 
had  always  kept  them,  and  away  she  went.  Since  then, 
she  has  not  returned  ,  but  I  fear  she  is  far  from  well.  You 
know  what  a  fragile  creature  Grace  ever  has  been  —  so 
American  !  — Ah  !  Wallingford  !  our  females  have  no  con 
stitutions —  charming  as  angels,  delicate  as  fairies,  and  all 
that ;  but  not  to  be  compared  to  the  English  women  in  con 
stitutions." 

I  felt  a  torrent  of  fire  rushing  through  my  blood,  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  I  refrained  from  hurling  the  heartless 
scoundrel  who  leaned  on  my  arm,  into  the  ditch.  A  mo 
ment  of  reflection,  however,  warned  me  of  the  precipice  on 
which  I  stood.  He  was  Mr.  Hardinge's  son,  Lucy's  bro 
ther  ;  and  I  had  no  proofs  that  he  had  ever  induced  Grace 
to  think  he  loved  her.  It  was  so  easy  for  those  who  had 
been  educated  as  we  four  had  been,  to  be  deceived  on  such 
a  point,  that  I  felt  it  unsafe  to  do  anything  precipitately. 
Friendship,  habit,  as  Rupert  expressed  it,  might  so  easily  be 
mistaken  for  the  fruits  of  passion,  that  one  might  well  be 
deceived.  Then  it  was  all-important  to  Grace's  self-respect, 
to  her  feelings,  in  some  measure  to  her  character,  to  be 
careful,  that  I  suppressed  my  wrath,  though  it  nearly  choked 
me. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  hear  this,"  I  answered,  after  a  long  pause, 
the  deep  regret  I  felt  at  having  such  an  account  of  my  sis 
ter's  health  contributing  to  make  my  manner  seem  natural ; 
"  very,  very  sorry  to  hear  it.  Grace  is  one  that  requires 
the  tenderest  care  and  watching ;  and  I  have  been  making 
passage  after  passage  in  pursuit  of  money,  when  I  am  afraid 
I  should  have  been  at  Clawbonny,  discharging  the  duties  of 
a  brother.  I  can  never  forgive  myself!" 

1  Money  is  a  very  good  thing,  Captain,"  answered  Ru 
pert,  with  a  smile  that  appeared  to  mean  more  than  the 
tongue  expressed — "a  surprisingly  good  thing  is  money! 
But  you  must  not  exaggerate  Grace's  illness,  which  I  dare 
say  is  merely  constitutional,  and  will  lead  to  nothing.  I 
hope  your  many  voyages  have  produced  their  fruits?" 

"  And  Lucy  ?"  I  resumed,  disregarding  his  question  con- 


430  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

cerning  my  own  success  as  an  owner.     "  Where  and 
is  she  1" 

"  Miss  Hardinge  is  in  town — in  her  own — that  is,  in  our 
house — in  Wall  Street,  though  she  goes  to  the  place  in  the 
morning.  No  one  who  can,  likes  to  remain  among  these 
hot  bricks,  that  has  a  pleasant  country-house  to  fly  to,  and 
open  to  receive  him.  But  I  forgot — I  have  supposed  you  to 
know  what  it  is  very  likely  you  have  never  heard  ?" 

"  I  learned  the  death  of  Mrs.  Bradfort  while  in  Italy,  and, 
seeing  you  in  black,  at  once  supposed  it  was  for  her." 

"  Yes,  that 's  just  it.  An  excellent  woman  has  been  taken 
from  us,  and,  had  she  been  my  own  mother,  I  could  not 
have  received  greater  kindnesses  from  her.  Her  end,  my 
dear  Wallingford,  was  admitted  by  all  the  clergy  to  be  one 
of  the  most  edifying  known  in  the  place  for  years." 

"  And  Mrs.  Bradfort  has  left  you  her  heir  1  It  is  now 
time  to  congratulate  you  on  your  good  fortune.  As  I  un- 
understand  her  estate  came  through  females  to  her,  and 
from  a  common  ancestor  of  hers  and  yours,  there  is  not  the 
slightest  reason  why  you  should  not  be  gratified  by  tho 
bequest.  But  Lucy — I  hope  she  was  not  altogether  for 
gotten  ?" 

Rupert  fidgeted,  and  I  could  see  that  he  was  on  tenter 
hooks.  As  I  afterwards  discovered,  he  wished  to  conceal 
the  real  facts  from  the  world ;  and  yet  he  could  not  but 
foresee  that  I  would  probably  learn  them  from  his  father. 
Under  all  the  circumstances,  therefore,  he  fancied  it  best  to 
make  me  a  confidant.  We  were  strolling  between  Trinity 
and  Paul's  church  walks,  then  the  most  fashionable  prome 
nade  in  town ;  and,  before  he  would  lay  open  his  secret,  my 
companion  led  me  over  by  the  Oswego  Market,  and  down 
Maiden  Lane,  lest  he  might  betray  himself  to  the  more 
fashionable  stocks  and  stones.  He  did  not  open  his  lips 
until  clear  of  the  market,  when  he  laid  bare  his  budget  of 
griefs  in  something  that  more  resembled  his  old  confidential 
manner,  than  he  had  seen  fit  to  exhibit  in  the  earlier  part  of 
our  interview. 

"  You  must  know,  Miles,"  he  commenced,  "  that  Mrs. 
Bradfort  was  a  very  peculiar  woman — a  very  peculiar  sort 
of  a  person,  indeed.  An  excellent  lady,  I  am  ready  to 
allow,  and  one  that  made  a  remarkably  edifying  and ;  but 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  431 

one  whose  peculiarities,  I  have  understood,  she  inherited 
with  her  fortune.  Women  do  get  the  oddest  conceits  into 
their  heads,  you  know,  and  American  women  before  all 
others ;  a  republic  being  anything  but  favourable  to  the  con 
tinuation  of  property  in  the  same  line.  Miss  Merton,  who 
is  a  girl  of  excellent  sense,  as  you  well  know  yourself, 
Miles,  says,  now,  in  England  I  should  have  succeeded,  quite 
as  a  matter  of  course,  to  all  Mrs.  Bradfort's  real  estate." 

"  You,  as  a  lawyer — a  common  law  lawyer — can  scarcely 
require  the  opinion  of  an  Englishwoman  to  tell  you  what  the 
English  laws  would  do  in  a  question  of  descent." 

"  Oh  !  they  've  a  plaguey  sight  of  statutes  in  that  country, 
as  well  as  ourselves.  Between  the  two,  the  common  law  is 
getting  to  be  a  very  uncommon  sort  of  a  law.  But,  to  cut 
the  matter  short,  Mrs.  Bradfort  made  a  will." 

"  Dividing  her  property  equally  between  you  and  Lucy,  I 
dare  say,  to  Miss  Merton's  great  dissatisfaction." 

"  Why,  not  just  so,  Miles — not  exactly  so ;  a  very  capri 
cious,  peculiar  woman  was  Mrs.  Bradfort " 

I  have  often  remarked,  when  a  person  has  succeeded  in 
throwing  dust  into  another's  eyes,  but  is  discarded  on  being 
found  out,  that  the  rejected  of  principle  is  very  apt  to  accuse 
his  former  dupe  of  being  capricious  ;  when,  in  fact,  he  has 
only  been  deceived.  As  I  said  nothing,  however,  leaving 
Rupert  to  flounder  on  in  the  best  manner  he  could,  the  latter, 
after  a  pause,  proceeded — 

"  But  her  end  was  very  admirable,"  he  said,  "  and  to  the 
last  degree  edifying.  You  must  know,  she  made  a  will,  and 
in  that  will  she  left  everything,  even  to  the  town  and  country 
houses,  to — my  sister." 

I  was  thunder-struck !  Here  were  all  my  hopes  blown 
again  to  the  winds.  After  a  long  pause,  I  resumed  the  dis 
course. 

"  And  whom  did  she  leave  as  executor?"  I  asked,  in 
stantly  foreseeing  the  consequences  should  that  office  be  de 
volved  on  Rupert,  himself. 

"  My  father.  The  old  gentleman  has  had  his  hands  full, 
between  your  father  and  mother,  and  Mrs.  Bradfort.  For 
tunately,  the  estate  of  the  last  is  in  a  good  condition,  and  is 
easily  managed.  Almost  entirely  in  stores  and  houses  in 
the  best  part  of  the  town,  well  insured,  a  few  thousands  in 


432  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

stocks,  and  as  much  in  bonds  and  mortgages,  the  savings 
from  the  income,  and  something  like  a  year's  rents  in  bank. 
A  good  seven  thousand  a  year,  with  enough  surplus  to  pay 
for  repairs,  collection  and  other  charges." 

"  And  all  this,  then,  is  Lucy's !"  I  exclaimed,  feeling 
something  like  the  bitterness  of  knowing  that  such  an  heiress 
was  not  for  me. 

"  Temporarily ;  though,  of  course,  I  consider  Lucy  as  only 
my  trustee  for  half  of  it.  You  know  how  it  is  with  the 
women ;  they  fancy  all  us  young  men  spendthrifts,  and,  so, 
between  the  two,  they  have  reasoned  in  this  way — 'Rupert  is 
a  good  fellow  at  bottom;  but  Rupert  is  young,  and  he  will 
make  the  money  fly — now,  I  '11  give  it  all  to  you,  Lucy,  in 
my  will,  but,  of  course,  you  '11  take  care  of  your  brother, 
and  let  him  have  half,  or  perhaps  two-thirds,  being  a  male, 
at  the  proper  time,  which  will  be,  as  soon  as  you  come  of 
age,  and  can  convey.  You  understand  Lucy  is  but  nine 
teen,  and  cannot  convey  these  two  years." 

"  And  Lucy  admits  this  to  be  true  ?  —  You  have  proof 
of  all  this?"  " 

"  Proof!  I  'd  take  my  own  affidavit  of  it.  You  see  it  is 
reasonable,  and  what  I  had  a  right  to  expect.  Everything 
tends  to  confirm  it.  Between  ourselves,  I  had  quite  $2000 
of  debt ;  and  yet,  you  see,  the  good  lady  did  not  leave  me 
a  dollar  to  pay  even  my  honest  creditors ;  a  circumstance 
that  so  pious  a  woman,  and  one  who  made  so  edifying  an 
end,  would  never  think  of  doing,  without  ulterior  views. 
Considering  Lucy  as  my  trustee,  explains  the  whole  thing." 

"  I  thought  Mrs.  Bradfort  made  you  an  allowance,  Ru 
pert  ;  some  $600  a  year,  besides  keeping  you  in  her  own 
house?" 

"  A  thousand — but,  what  is  $1000  a  year  to  a  fashiona 
ble  man,  in  a  town  like  this.  First  and  last,  the  excellent 
old  lady,  gave  me  about  $5000,  all  of  which  confirms  the 
idea,  that,  at  the  bottom,  she  intended  me  for  her  heir. 
What  woman  in  her  senses,  would  think  of  giving  $5000  to 
a  relative  to  whom  she  did  not  contemplate  giving  more  ? 
The  thing  is  clear  on  its  face,  and  I  should  certainly  go  into 
chancery,  with  anybody  but  Lucy." 

"  And  Lucy  ? — what  says  she  to  your  views  on  the  sub 
ject  of  Mrs.  Bradfort's  intentions  ?" 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  433 

"  Why,  you  have  some  acquaintance  with  Lucy  —  used 
»o  be  intimate  with  her,  as  one  might  say,  when  children, 
and  know  something  of  her  character — "  This  to  me,  who 
fairly  worshipped  the  earth  on  which  the  dear  girl  trod!— - 
"  She  never  indulges  in  professions,  and  likes  to  take  people 
by  surprise,  when  she  contemplates  doing  them  a  service—" 
this  was  just  as  far  from  Lucy's  natural  and  honest  mode 
of  dealing,  as  it  was  possible  to  be — "  and,  so,  she  has  been 
as  mum  as  one  who  has  lost  the  faculty  of  speech.  How 
ever,  she  never  speaks  of  her  affairs  to  others ;  that  is  a 
good  sign,  and  indicates  an  intention  to  consider  herself  as 
my  trustee ;  and,  what  is  better  still,  and  more  plainly  de 
notes  what  her  conscience  dictates  in  the  premises,  she  has 
empowered  her  father  to  pay  all  my  debts ;  the  current 
income  and  loose  cash,  being  at  her  disposal,  at  once.  It 
would  have  been  better  had  she  given  me  the  money,  to 
satisfy  these  creditors  with  it,  for  I  knew  which  had  waited 
the  longest,  and  were  best  entitled  to  receive  the  dollars  at 
once ;  but,  it's  something  to  have  all  their  receipts  in  my 
pocket,  and  to  start  fair  again.  Thank  Heaven,  that  much 
is  already  done.  To  do  Lucy  justice,  moreover,  she  allows 
me  81500  a  year,  ad  interim.  Now,  Miles,  I  've  conversed 
with  you,  as  with  an  old  friend,  and  because  I  knew  my 
father  would  tell  you  the  whole,  when  you  get  up  to  Claw- 
bonny  ;  but  you  will  take  it  all  in  strict  confidence.  It  gives 
a  fashionable  young  fellow  so  silly  an  air,  to  be  thought  de 
pendent  on  a  sister  ;  and  she  three  years  younger  than  him 
self!  So  I  have  hinted  the  actual  state  of  the  case,  round 
among  my  friends  ;  but,  it  is  generally  believed  that  I  am  in 
possession  already,  and  that  Lucy  is  dependent  on  me,  in 
stead  of  my  being  dependent  on  her.  The  idea,  moreover, 
is  capital  for  keeping  off  fortune-hunters,  as  you  will  see  at 
a  glance." 

"  And  will  the  report  satisfy  a  certain  Mr.  Andrew  Drew- 
ctt?"  I  asked,  struggling  to  assume  a  composure  I  was  far 
from  feeling.  "  He  was  all  attention  when  I  sailed,  and  I 
almost  expected  to  hear  there  was  no  longer  a  Lucy  Har- 
dinge." 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  Miles,  I  thought  so,  too,  until  the 
death  of  Mrs.  Bradfort.  The  mourning,  however,  most  op- 
portunely  came  to  put  a  stop  to  anything  of  the  sort,  were 
it  even  contemplated.  It  would  be  so  awkward,  you  will 


434  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

understand,  to  have  a  brother-in-law  before  everything  is 
settled,  and  the  trust  is  accounted  for.  Au  reste  —  I  arn 
very  well  satisfied  with  Andrew,  and  let  him  know  I  am 
his  friend  ;  he  is  well  connected  ;  fashionable ;  has  a  pretty 
little  fortune;  and,  as  I  sometimes  tell  Lucy,  that  he  is 
intended  for  her,  as  Mrs.  Bradfort,  no  doubt,  foresaw,  inas 
much  as  his  estate,  added  to  just  one-third  of  that  of  our 
dear  departed  cousin,  would  just  make  up  the  present  in 
come.  On  my  honour,  now,  I  do  not  think  the  difference 
would  be  8500  per  annum." 

"  And  how  does  your  sister  receive  your  hints  ?" 

"  Oh  !  famously — just  as  all  girls  do,  you  know.  She 
olushes,  and  sometimes  she  looks  vexed ;  then  she  smiles, 
and  puts  up  her  lip,  and  says  *  Nonsense  !'  and  *  What  folly  !' 
4  Rupert,  I  'm  surprised  at  you !'  and  all  that  sort  of  stuff, 
which  deceives  nobody,  you  '11  understand,  not  even  her 
poor,  simple,  silly  brother.  But,  Miles,  I  must  quit  you 
now,  for  I  have  an  engagement  to  accompany  a  party  to  the 
theatre,  and  was  on  my  way  to  join  them  when  we  met. 
Cooper  plays,  and  you  know  what  a  lion  he  is ;  one  would 
not  wish  to  lose  a  syllable  of  his  Othello." 

"  Stop,  Rupert — one  word  more  before  we  part.  From 
your  conversation,  1  gather  that  the  Mertons  are  still  here  ?" 

"  The  Mertons  !  Why,  certainly  ;  established  in  the  land, 
and  among  its  tip-top  people.  The  Colonel  finds  his  health 
benefited  by  the  climate,  and  he  has  managed  to  get  some 
appointment  which  keeps  him  among  us.  He  has  Boston 
relatives,  moreover,  and  I  believe  is  fishing  up  some  claims 
to  property  in  that  quarter.  The  Mertons  here,  indeed ! 
what  would  New  York  be  without  the  Mertons !" 

"  And  my  old  friend  the  Major  is  promoted,  too — you 
called  him  Colonel,  I  think  ?" 

"  Did  I  ?  I  believe  he  is  oftener  called  General  Merton, 
than  anything  else.  You  must  be  mistaken  about  his  being 
only  a  Major,  Miles ;  everybody  here  calls  him  either  Colo- 
nel,  or  General." 

"  Never  mind  ;  I  hope  it  is  as  you  say.  Good-bye,  Ru 
pert  ;  I  '11  not  betray  you,  and " 

"  Well — you  were  about  to  say " 

"  Why,  mention  me  to  Lucy ;  you  know  we  were  ac 
quainted  when  children.  Tell  her  I  wish  her  all  happiness 
in -her  new  position,  to  which  I  do  not  doubt  she  will  do  full 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  435 

credit ;  and  that  I  shall  endeavour  to  see  her  before  I  sail 
again." 

"  You  '11  not  be  at  the  theatre  this  evening  ?     Cooper  is 
well  worth  seeing — a  most  famous  fellow  in  Othello !" 

"  I  think  not.     Do  not  forget  to  mention  me  to  your  sis 
ter  ;  and  so,  once  more,  adieu  !" 

We  parted — Rupert  to  go  towards  Broadway,  at  a  great 
pace,  and  I  to  lounge  along,  uncertain  whither  to  proceed. 
I  had  sent  Neb  to  inquire  if  the  Wallingford  were  down,  and 
understood  she  would  leave  the  basin  at  sunrise.  It  was 
now  my  intention  to  go  up  in  her ;  for,  though  I  attached  no 
great  importance  to  any  of  Rupert's  facts,  his  report  con 
cerning  my  sister's  health  rendered  me  exceedingly  uneasy. 
Insensibly  I  continued  my  course  down  Maiden  Lane,  and 
soon  found  myself  near  the  ship.  I  went  on  board,  had  an 
explanation  with  Marble,  gave  some  orders  to  Neb,  and 
went  ashore  again,  all  in  the  course  of  the  next  half-hour. 
By  a  sort  of  secret  attraction,  I  was  led  towards  the  Park, 
and  soon  found  myself  at  the  door  of  the  theatre.  Mrs. 
Bradfort  had  now  been  dead  long  enough  to  put  Lucy  in 
second  mourning,  and  I  fancied  I  might  get  a  view  of  her  in 
the  party  that  Rupert  was  to  accompany.  Buying  a  ticket, 
I  entered  and  made  my  way  up  into  the  Shakspeare  box. 
Had  I  been  better  acquainted  with  the  place,  with  the  object 
in  view  I  should  have  gone  into  the  pit. 

Notwithstanding  the  lateness  of  the  season,  it  was  a  very 
full  house.  Cooper's,  in  that  day,  was  a  name  that  filled 
every  mouth,  and  he  seldom  failed  to  fill  every  theatre  in 
which  he  appeared.  With  many  first-rate  qualifications  for 
his  art,  and  a  very  respectable  conception  of  his  characters, 
he  threw  everything  like  competition  behind  him ;  though 
there  were  a  few,  as  there  ever  will  be  among  the  superla 
tively  intellectual,  who  affected  to  see  excellencies  in  Fennel, 
and  others,  to  which  this  great  actor  could  not  aspire.  The 
public  decided  against  these  select  few,  and,  as  is  invariably 
the  case  when  the  appeal  is  made  to  human  feelings,  the 
public  decided  right.  Puffery  will  force  into  notice  and 
sustain  a  false  judgment,  in  such  matters,  for  a  brief  space; 
but  nature  soon  asserts  her  sway,  and  it  is  by  natural  deci 
sions  that  such  points  are  ever  the  most  justly  determined. 
Whatever  appeals  to  human  sympathies,  will  be  answered 


436  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

by  human  sympathies.  Popularity  too  often  gains  its  ascen 
dency  behind  the  hypocrite's  mask  in  religion ;  it  is  usually 
a  magnificent  mystification  in  politics ;  it  frequently  becomes 
the  patriot's  stalking-horse,  on  which  he  rides  to  power ;  in 
social  life,  it  is  the  reward  of  empty  smiles,  unmeaning  bows, 
and  hollow  squeezes  of  the  hand ;  but  with  the  player,  the 
poet,  and  all  whose  pursuits  bring  them  directly  in  contact 
with  the  passions,  the  imagination  and  the  heart,  it  is  the 
unerring  test  of  merit,  with  certain  qualifications  connected 
with  the  mind  and  the  higher  finish  of  pure  art.  It  may  be 
questioned  if  Cooper  were  not  the  greatest  actor  of  his  day, 
in  a  certain  range  of  his  own  characters. 

I  have  said  that  the  house  was  full.  I  got  a  good  place, 
however ;  though  it  was  not  in  the  front  row.  Of  course  I 
could  only  see  the  side  boxes  beneath,  and  not  even  quite 
all  of  them.  My  eyes  ran  eagerly  over  them,  and  I  soon 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  fine,  curling  hair  of  Rupert.  He 
sat  by  the  side  of  Emily  Merton,  the  Major — I  knew  he  was 
a  colonel  or  general,  only  by  means  of  a  regular  Manhattan 
promotion,  which  is  so  apt  to  make  hundreds  of  counts, 
copper  captains,  and  travelling  prodigies  of  those  who  are 
very  small  folk  at  home  —  the  Major  sat  next,  and,  at  his 
side,  I  saw  a  lady,  whom  I  at  once  supposed  to  be  Lucy. 
Every  nerve  in  my  system  thrilled,  as  I  caught  even  this 
indistinct  view  of  the  dear  creature.  I  could  just  see  the 
upper  part  of  her  face,  as  it  was  occasionally  turned  towards 
the  Major ;  and  once  I  caught  that  honest  smile  of  hers, 
which  I  knew  had  never  intentionally  deceived. 

The  front  seat  of  the  box  had  two  vacant  places.  The 
bench  would  hold  six,  while  it  had  yet  only  four.  The 
audience,  however,  was  still  assembling,  and,  presently,  a 
stir  in  Lucy's  box  denoted  the  arrival  of  company.  The 
whole  party  moved,  and  Andrew  Drewett  handed  an  elderly 
lady  in,  his  mother,  as  I  afterwards  ascertained,  and  took 
the  other  place  himself.  I  watched  the  salutations  that  were 
exchanged,  and  understood  that  the  new  comers  had  been 
expected.  The  places  had  been  reserved  for  them,  and  old 
Mrs.  Drewett  was  doubtless  the  chaperone  ;  though,  one 
having  a  brother  and  the  other  a  father  with  her,  the  two 
young  ladies  had  not  hesitated  about  preceding  the  elderly 
'  lady.  They  had  come  from  different  quarters  of  the  town, 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  437 

find  had  agreed  to  meet  at  the  theatre.  Old  Mrs.  Drewett 
was  very  particular  in  shaking  hands  with  Lucy,  though  I 
had  not  the  misery  of  seeing  her  son  go  through  the  same 
ceremony.  Still  he  was  sufficiently  pointed  in  his  saluta 
tions  ;  and,  during  the  movements,  I  perceived  he  managed 
to  get  next  to  Lucy,  leaving  the  Major  to  entertain  his 
mother.  All  this  was  natural,  and  what  might  have  been 
expected  ;  yet,  it  gave  me  a  pang  that  I  cannot  describe. 

I  sat,  for  half  an  hour,  perfectly  inattentive  to  the  play, 
meditating  on  the  nature  of  my  real  position  towards  Lucy. 
I  recalled  the  days  of  childhood  and  early  youth ;  the  night 
of  my  first  departure  from  home;  my  return,  and  the  inci 
dents  accompanying  my  second  departure ;  the  affair  of  the 
locket,  and  all  I  had  truly  felt  myself,  and  all  that  I  had 
supposed  Lucy  herself  to  feel,  on  those  several  occasions. 
Could  it  be  possible  I  had  so  much  deceived  myself,  and  that 
the  interest  the  dear  girl  had  certainly  manifested  in  me  had 
been  nothing  but  the  fruits  of  her  naturally  warm  and  honest 
heart — her  strong  disposition  to  frankness — habit,  as  Rupert 
had  so  gently  hinted  in  reference  to  ourselves?  Then  I 
could  not  conceal  from  myself  the  bitter  fact  that  I  was, 
now,  no  equal  match  for  Lucy,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 
While  she  was  poor,  and  I  comparatively  rich,  the  inequality 
in  social  station  might  have  been  overlooked  ;  it  existed, 
certainly,  but  was  not  so  very  marked  that  it  might  not, 
even  in  that  day,  be  readily  forgotten ;  but  now,  Lucy  was 
an  heiress,  had  much  more  than  double  my  own  fortune  — 
had  a  fortune  indeed  ;  while  I  was  barely  in  easy  circum 
stances,  as  persons  of  the  higher  classes  regarded  wealth. 
The  whole  matter  seemed  reversed.  It  was  clear  that  a 
sailor  like  myself,  with  no  peculiar  advantages,  those  of  a 
tolerable  education  excepted,  and  who  was  necessarily  so 
much  absent,  had  not  the  same  chances  of  preferring  his 
suit,  as  one  of  your  town  idlers ;  a  nominal  lawyer,  for  in 
stance,  who  dropped  in  at  his  office  for  an  hour  or  two,  just 
after  breakfast,  and  promenaded  Broadway  the  rest  of  the 
time,  until  dinner;  or  a  man  of  entire  leisure,  like  Andrew 
Drewett,  who  belonged  to  the  City  Library  set,  and  had  no 
other  connection  with  business  than  to  see  that  his  rents  were 
collected  and  his  dividends  paid.  The  more  I  reflected,  the 
moro  humble  I  became,  the  less  my  chances  seemed;  and  I 
37  * 


438  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

determined  to  quit  the  theatre,  at  once.  The  reader  will 
remember  that  I  was  New  York  born  and  bred,  a  state  of 
society  in  which  few  natives  acted  on  the  principle  that 
"  there  was  nothing  too  high  to  be  aspired  to,  nothing  too 
low  to  be  done."  I  admitted  I  had  superiors,  and  was  will 
ing  to  defer  to  the  facts  and  opinions  of  the  world  as  I 
knew  it. 

In  the  lobby  of  the  building,  I  experienced  a  pang  at  the 
idea  of  quitting  the  place  without  getting  one  look  at  the 
face  of  Lucy.  I  was  in  an  humble  mood,  it  is  true,  but  that 
did  not  necessarily  infer  a  total  self-denial.  I  determined, 
therefore,  to  pass  into  the  pit,  with  my  box-check,  feast  my 
eyes  by  one  long  gaze  at  the  dear  creature's  ingenuous 
countenance,  and  carry  away  the  impression,  as  a  lasting 
memorial  of  her  whom  I  so  well  loved,  and  whom  I  felt  per 
suaded  I  should  ever  continue  to  love.  After  this  indul 
gence,  I  would  studiously  avoid  her,  in  order  to  release  my 
thoughts  as  much  as  possible  from  the  perfect  thraldom 
in  which  they  had  existed,  ever  since  I  had  heard  of 
Mrs.  Bradfort's  death.  Previously  to  that  time,  I  am  afraid 
I  had  counted  a  little  more  than  was  becoming  on  the  ease 
of  my  own  circumstances,  and  Lucy's  comparative  poverty. 
Not  that  I  had  ever  supposed  her  to  be  in  the  least  mer 
cenary — this  I  knew  to  be  utterly,  totally  false — but  because 
the  good  town  of  Manhattan,  even  in  1803,  was  tant  soil 
pen  addicted  to  dollars,  and  Lucy's  charms  would  not  be 
likely  to  attract  so  many  suitors,  in  the  modest  setting  of  a 
poor  country  clergyman's  means,  as  in  the  golden  frame  by 
which  they  had  been  surrounded  by  Mrs.  Bradfort's  testa 
mentary  devise,  even  supposing  Rupert  to  come  in  for  quite 
one  half. 

I  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  a  convenient  place  in  the 
pit ;  one,  from  which  I  got  a  front  and  near  view  of  the 
whole  six,  as  they  sat  ranged  side  by  side.  Of  the  Major 
and  old  Mrs.  Drewett  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  much.  The 
latter  looked  as  all  dowager-like  widows  of  that  day  used  to 
appear,  respectable,  staid,  and  richly  attired.  The  good  lady 
had  come  on  the  stage  during  the  revolution,  and  had  a 
slightly  military  air — a  parade  in  her  graces,  that  was  not 
altogether  unknown  to  the  tUves  of  that  school.  I  dare  say 
she  could  use  such  words  as  "  martinets,"  "  mowhairs/ 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  43fl 

u  brigadiers,"  and  other  terms  familiar  to  her  class.  Alas ! 
how  completely  all  these  little  traces  of  the  past  are  disap 
pearing  from  our  habits  and  manners  ! 

As  for  the  Major,  he  appeared  much  better  in  health,  and 
altogether  altered  in  mien.  I  could  readily  detect  the  influ 
ence  of  the  world  on  him.  He  was  evidently  a  so  much  greater 
man  in  New  York  than  he  had  been  when  I  found  him  in 
London,  that  it  is  not  wonderful  he  felt  the  difference.  Be 
tween  the  acts,  I  remarked  that  all  the  principal  persons  in 
the  front  rows  were  desirous  of  exchanging  nods  with  the 
"  British  officer,"  a  proof  that  he  was  circulating  freely  in 
the  best  set,  and  had  reached  a  point,  when  "  not  to  know 
him,  argues  yourself  unknown."* 

Emily  certainly  looked  well  and  happy.  I  could  see  tnat 
she  was  delighted  with  Rupert's  flattery,  and  I  confess  I 
cared  very  little  for  his  change  of  sentiment,  or  his  success. 
That  both  Major  and  Emily  Merton  were  different  persons 

*  The  miserable  moral  dependence  of  this  country  on  Great  Bri 
tain,  forty  years  since,  cannot  well  be  brought  home  to  the  present 
generation.  It  is  still  too  great,  but  lias  not  a  tithe  of  its  former  force 
The  writer  has  himself  known  an  Italian  Prince,  a  man  of  family 
and  of  high  personal  merit,  pass  unnoticed  before  a  society  that  was 
eager  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  most  of  the  **  agents"  of  the  Bir 
mingham  button  dealers ;  and  this  simply  because  one  came  from 
Italy  and  the  other  from  England.  The  following  anecdote,  which  is 
quite  as  true  as  any  other  fact  in  this  work,  furnishes  a  good  example 
of  what  is  meant.  It  is  now  a  quarter  of  a  century  since  the  writer's 
first  book  appeared.  Two  or  three  months  after  the  publication,  he 
was  walking  down  Broadway  with  a  friend,  when  a  man  of  much 
distinction  in  the  New  York  circles  was  passing  up,  on  the  other 
side-walk..  The  gentleman  in  question  caught  the  writer's  eye,  bowed, 
and  crossed  the  street,  to  shake  hands  and  inquire  after  the  author's 
health.  The  difference  in  years  made  this  attention  marked.  "  You 
are  in  high  favour,"  observed  the  friend,  as  the  two  walked  away, 

to  "  have pay  you  such  a  compliment  —  your  book  must  have 

done  this."     "Now  mark  my  words  —  I  have  been  puffed  in  some 

English  magazine,  and knows  it"    The  two  were  on  their  way 

to  the  author's  publishers,  and,  on  entering  the  door,  honest  Charles 
Wiley  put  a  puff  on  the  book  in  question  into  the  writer's  hand '. 
What  rendered  the  whole  more  striking,  was  the  fact  that  the  para, 
graph  was  as  flagrant  a  puff  as  was  ever  written,  and  had  probably 
been  paid  for,  by  the  English  publisher.  The  gentleman  in  question 
was  a  man  of  talents  and  merit,  but  he  had  been  born  half  a  century 
too  soon,  to  enjoy  entire  mental  independence  in  a  country  that  had 
BO  recently  been  a  colony. 


440  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

in  the  midst  of  the  world  and  in  the  solitudes  of  the  Pacific, 
was  as  evident  as  it  was  that  I  was  a  different  personage  in 
command  of  the  Crisis,  and  in  the  pit  of  the  Park  theatre. 
J  dare  say,  at  that  moment.  Miss  Merlon  had  nearly  for 
gotten  that  such  a  man  as  Miles  Wallmgford  existed,  though  I 
think  sho  sometimes  recalled  the  string  of  magnificent  pearls 
that  were  to  ornament  the  neck  of  his  wife,  should  he  ever 
tind  any  one  to  have  him. 

But,  Lucy,  dear,  upright,  warm-hearted,  truth-telling,  be 
loved  Lucy  !  all  this  time,  I  forget  to  speak  of  her.  There 
she  sat  in  maiden  loveliness,  her  beauty  still  more  developed, 
her  eye  as  beaming,  lustrous,  feeling,  as  ever,  her  blush  as 
sensitive,  her  smile  as  sweet,  and  her  movements  as  natural 
and  graceful.  The  simplicity  of  her  half-mourning,  too, 
added  to  her  beauty,  which  was  of  a  character  to  require  no 
further  aid  from  dress,  than  such  as  was  dependent  purely 
on  taste.  As  I  gazed  at  her,  enthralled,  I  fancied  nothing 
was  wanting  to  complete  the  appearance,  but  my  own  neck 
lace.  Powerful,  robust  man  as  I  was,  with  my  frame  hard 
ened  by  exposure  and  trials,  I  could  have  sat  down  and  wept, 
after  gazing  some  time  at  the  precious  creature,  under  the 
feeling  produced  by  the  conviction  that  I  was  never  to  renew 
my  intercourse  with  her,  on  terms  of  intimacy  at  least.  The 
thought  that  from  day  to  day  we  were  to  become  more  and 
more  strangers,  was  almost  too  much  to  be  borne.  As  it  was, 
scalding  tears  forced  themselves  to  my  eyes,  though  I  suc 
ceeded  in  concealing  the  weakness  from  those  around  me. 
At  length  the  tragedy  terminated,  the  curtain  dropped,  and 
the  audience  began  to  move  about.  The  pit  which  had,  just 
before,  been  crowded,  was  now  nearly  empty,  and  I  was 
afraid  of  being  seen.  Still,  I  could  not  tear  myself  away, 
but  remained  after  nine-tenths  of  those  around  me  had  gone 
into  the  lobbies. 

It  was  easy,  now,  to  see  the  change  which  had  come  over 
Lucy's  position,  in  the  attentions  she  received.  All  the 
ladies  in  the  principal  boxes  had  nods  and  smiles  for  her, 
and  half  the  fashionable-looking  young  men  in  the  house 
crowded  round  her  box,  or  actually  entered  it  to  pay  their 
compliments.  I  fancied  Andrew  Drewett  had  a  self-satisfied 
air  that  seemed  to  say,  "  you  are  paying  your  homage  indi 
rectly  tc  myself,  in  paying  it  to  this  young  lady."  As  for 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  44 1 

Lucy,  my  jealous  watchfulness  could  not  detect  the  smallest 
alteration  in  her  deportment,  so  far  as  simplicity  and  nature 
were  concerned.  She  appeared  in  a  trifling  degree  more 
womanly,  perhaps,  than  when  I  saw  her  last,  being  now  in 
her  twentieth  year ;  but  the  attentions  she  received  made  no 
visible  change  in  her  manners.  I  had  become  lost  in  the 
scene,  and  was  standing  in  a  musing  attitude,  my  side  face  to 
wards  the  box,  when  I  heard  a  suppressed  exclamation,  in 
Lucy's  voice.  I  was  too  near  her  to  be  mistaken,  and  it 
caused  the  blood  to  rush  to  my  heart  in  a  torrent.  Turn 
ing,  I  saw  the  dearl  girl,  with  her  hand  extended  over  the 
front  of  the  box,  her  face  suffused  with  blushes,  and  her 
eyes  riveted  on  myself.  I  was  recognised,  and  the  surprise 
had  produced  a  display  of  all  that  old  friendship,  certainly, 
that  had  once  existed  between  us,  in  the  simplicity  and  truth 
of  childhood. 

"  Miles  Wallingford !"  she  said,  as  I  advanced  to  shake 
the  offered  hand,  and  as  soon  as  I  was  near  enough  to  per 
mit  her  to  speak  without  attracting  too  much  attention  — 
"  you  arrived,  and  we  knew  nothing  of  it !" 

It  was  plain  Rupert  had  said  nothing  of  having  seen  me, 
or  of  our  interview  in  the  street.  He  seemed  a  little  ashamed, 
and  leaned  forward  to  say — 

"  I  declare  I  forgot  to  mention,  Lucy,  that  I  met  Captain 
Wallingford  as  I  was  going  to  join  the  Colonel  and  Miss  Mer 
lon.  Oh !  we  have  had  a  long  talk  together,  and  it  will 
save  you  a  history  of  past  events." 

"  I  may,  nevertheless,  say,"  I  rejoined,  "  how  happy  I 
am  to  see  Miss  Hardinge  looking  so  well,  and  to  be  able  to 
pay  my  compliments  to  my  old  passengers." 

Of  course  I  shook  hands  with  the  Major  and  Emily, 
bowed  to  Drewett,  was  named  to  his  mother,  and  was  invited 
to  enter  the  box,  as  it  was  not  quite  in  rule  to  be  conversing 
between  the  pit  and'  the  front  rows.  I  forgot  my  prudent 
resolutions,  and  was  behind  Lucy  in  three  minutes.  An 
drew  Drewett  had  the  civility  to  offer  me  his  place,  though 
it  was  with  an  air  that  said  plain  enough  "  what  do  /  care 
for  him  —  he  is  a  ship-master,  and  I  am  a  man  of  fashion 
and  fortune,  and  can  resume  my  seat  at  any  moment,  while 
the  poor  fellow  can  only  catch  his  chances,  as  he  occasion- 


442  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

ally  comes  into  port."  At  least,  I  fancied  his  manner  said 
something  like  this. 

"  Thank  you,  Mr.  Drewett,"  said  Lucy,  in  her  sweetest 
manner.  "  Mr.  Wallingford  and  I  are  very,  very  old  friends, 
—  you  know  he  is  Grace's  brother,  and  you  have  been  at 
Clawbonny" — Drewett  bowed,  civilly  enough — "  and  I  have 
a  thousand  things  to  say  to  him.  So,  Miles,  take  this  seat, 
and  let  me  hear  all  about  your  voyage." 

As  half  the  audience  went  away  as  soon  as  the  tragedy 
ended,  the  second  seat  of  the  box  was  vacated,  and  the  other 
gentlemen  getting  on  it,  to  stretch  their  limbs,  I  had  abund 
ance  of  room  to  sit  at  Lucy's  side,  half  facing  her,  at  the 
same  time.  As  she  insisted  on  hearing  my  story,  before  we 
proceeded  to  anything  else,  I  was  obliged  to  gratify  her. 

"  By  the  way,  Major  Merton,"  I  cried,  as  the  tale  was 
closed,  "  an  old  friend  of  yours,  Moses  Marble  by  name,  has 
come  to  life  again,  and  is  at  this  moment  in  New  York." 

I  then  related  the  manner  in  which  I  had  fallen  in  with 
my  old  mate.  This  was  a  most  unfortunate  self-interruption 
for  me,  giving  the  Major  a  fair  opportunity  for  cutting  into 
the  conversation.  The  orchestra,  moreover,  giving  notice 
that  the  curtain  would  soon  rise  for  the  after-piece,  the  old 
gentleman  soon  got  me  into  the  lobby  to  hear  the  particu 
lars.  I  was  supremely  vexed,  and  I  thought  Lucy  appeared 
sorry ;  but  there  was  no  help  for  it,  and  then  we  could  not 
converse  while  the  piece  was  going  on. 

"  I  suppose  you  care  little  for  this  silly  farce,"  observed 
the  Major,  looking  in  at  one  of  the  windows,  after  I  had 
gone  over  Marble's  affair  in  detail.  "  If  not,  we  will  con 
tinue  our  walk,  and  wait  for  the  ladies  to  come  out.  Drew 
ett  and  Hardinge  will  take  good  care  of  them." 

I  assented,  and  we  continued  to  walk  the  lobby  till  the 
end  of  the  act.  Major  Merton  was  always  gentleman-like; 
and  he  even  behaved  to  me,  as  if  he  remembered  the  many 
obligations  he  was  under.  He  now  communicated  several 
little  facts  connected  with  his  own  circumstances,  alluding  to 
the  probability  of  his  remaining  in  America  a  few  years. 
Our  chat  continued  some  time,  my  looks  frequently  turning 
towards  the  door  of  the  box,  when  my  companion  suddenly 
observed — 

"  Your  old  acquaintances  the  Hardinges  have  had  a  lucl;y 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  443 

wind- fall— one,  I  fancy,  they  hardly  expected,  a  few  years 
since." 

"  Probably  not ;  though  the  estate  has  fallen  into  excel 
lent  hands,"  I  answered.  "  I  am  surprised,  however,  that 
Mrs.  Brad  fort  did  not  leave  the  property  to  the  old  gentle 
man,  as  it  once  belonged  to  their  common  grandfather,  and 
he  properly  stood  next  in  succession." 

"  I  fancy  she  thought  the  good  parson  would  not  know 
what  to  do  with  it.  Now,  Rupert  Hardinge  is  clever,  and 
spirited,  and  in  a  way  to  make  a  figure  in  the  world ;  and  it 
is  probably  in  better  hands,  than  if  it  had  been  left  first  to 
the  old  gentleman." 

"  The  old  gentleman  has  been  a  faithful  steward  to  me, 
and  I  doubt  not  would  have  proved  equally  so  to  his  own 
children.  But,  does  Rupert  get  all  Mrs.  Bradfort's  pro* 
perty?" 

"  I  believe  not ;  there  is  some  sort  of  a  trust,  I  have 
heard  him  say ;  and  I  rather  fancy  that  his  sister  has  some 
direct  or  reversionary  interest.  Perhaps  she  is  named  as 
the  heir,  if  he  die  without  issue.  There  was  a  silly  story, 
that  Mrs.  Bradfbrt  had  left  everything  to  Lucy ;  but  I  have 
it  from  the  best  authority,  that  that  is  not  true — "  The  idea 
of  Rupert  Hardinge's  being  the  "  best  authority"  for  any 
thing  ;  a  fellow  who  never  knew  what  unadulterated  truth 
was,  from  the  time  he  was  in  petticoats,  or  could  talk ! — 
"  As  I  know  there  is  a  trust,  though  one  of  no  great  moment; 
I  presume  Lucy  has  some  contingent  interest,  subject,  most 
probably,  to  her  marrying  with  her  brother's  approbation, 
or  some  such  provision.  The  old  lady  was  sagacious,  and 
no  doubt  did  all  that  was  necessary." 

It  is  wonderful  how  people  daily  deceive  themselves  on 
the  subject  of  property ;  those  who  care  the  most  about  it, 
appearing  to  make  the  greatest  blunders.  In  the  way  of 
bequests,  in  particular,  the  lies  that  are  told  are  marvellous. 
It  is  now  many  years  since  I  learned  to  take  no  heed  of 
rumours  on  such  subjects,  and  least  of  all,  rumours  that 
come  from  the  class  of  the  money-gripers.  Such  people 
refer  everything  to  dollars,  and  seldom  converse  a  minute 
without  using  the  word.  Here,  however,  was  Major  Mer- 
ton  evidently  Rupert's  dupe;  though  with  what  probable 


444  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

consequences,  it  was  not  in  my  power  to  foresee.  It  was 
clearly  not  my  business  to  undeceive  him  ;  and  the  conver 
sation,  getting  to  be  embarrassing,  I  was  not  sorry  to  hear 
the  movement  which  announced  the  end  of  the  act.  At  the 
box  door,  to  my  great  regret,  we  met  Mrs.  Drewett  retir 
ing,  the  ladies  finding  the  farce  dull,  and  not  worth  the  time 
tost  in  listening  to  it.  Rupert  gave  me  an  uneasy  glance, 
and  he  even  dragged  me  aside  to  whisper — "  Miles,  what  I 
told  you  this  evening,  is  strictly  a  family  secret,  and  was 
entrusted  to  a  friend." 

"  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  your  private  concerns,  Ru 
pert—"  I  answered, — "only,  let  me  expect  you  to  act  ho 
nourably,  especially  when  women  are  concerned." 

"  Everything  will  come  right,  depend  on  it ;  the  truth 
will  set  everything  right,  and  all  will  come  out,  just  as  I  pre 
dicted." 

I  saw  Lucy  looking  anxiously  around,  while  Drewett  had 
gone  to  order  the  carriages  to  advance,  and  I  hoped  it  might 
be  for  me.  In  a  moment  I  was  by  her  side ;  at  the  next,  Mr. 
Andrew  Drewett  offered  his  arm,  saying,  her  carriage 
"  stopped  the  way."  We  moved  into  the  outer  lobby,  in  a 
body,  and  then  it  was  found  that  Mrs.  Drewett's  carriage 
was  up  first,  while  Lucy's  was  in  the  rear.  Yes,  Lucy's 
carriage ! — the  dear  girl  having  come  into  immediate  pos 
session  of  her  relative's  houses,  furniture,  horses,  carriages, 
and  everything  else,  without  reserve,  just  as  they  had  been 
left  behind  by  the  last  incumbent,  when  she  departed  from 
the  scene  of  life,  to  lie  down  in  the  grave.  Mrs.  Bradfort's 
arms  were  still  on  the  chariot,  I  observed,  its  owner  refus 
ing  all  Rupert's  solicitations  to  supplant  them  by  those  of 
Hardinge.  The  latter  took  his  revenge,  however,  by  telling 
everybody  how  generous  he  was  in  keeping  a  carriage  for 
his  sister. 

The  Major  handed  Mrs.  Drewett  in,  and  her  son  was  com 
pelled  to  say  good  night,  to  see  his  mother  home.  This 
gave  me  one  blessed  minute  with  Lucy,  by  herself.  She 
spoke  of  Grace ;  said  they  had  now  been  separated  months, 
longer  than  they  ever  had  been  before  in  their  lives,  and 
that  all  her  own  persuasions  could  not  induce  my  sister  to 
rejoin  her  in  town,  while  her  own  wish  to  visit  Clawbonny 
had  been  constantly  disappointed,  Rupert  insisting  that  her 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  445 

presence  was  necessary,  for  so  many  arrangements  about 
business. 

"  Grace  is  not  as  humble  as  I  was,  in  old  times,  Miles," 
said  the  dear  girl,  looking  me  in  the  face,  half  sadly,  half 
reproachfully,  the  light  of  the  lamp  falling  full  on  her  tear 
ful,  tender  eyes,  "  and  I  hope  you  are  not  about  to  imitate 
her  bad  example.  She  wishes  us  to  know  she  has  Cluw- 
bonny  for  a  home,  but  I  never  hesitated  to  admit  how  poor 
we  were,  while  you  alone  were  rich." 

"  God  bless  you,  Lucy !"  I  whispered,  squeezing  her 
hand  with  fervour  —  "It  cannot  be  that  —  have  you  heard 
anything  of  Grace's  health  ?" 

"  Oh  !  she  is  well,  I  know — Rupert  tells  me  that,  and  her 
letters  are  cheerful  and  kind  as  ever,  without  a  word  of 
complaint.  But  I  must  see  her  soon.  Grace  Wallingford 
and  Lucy  Hardinge  were  not  born  to  live  asunder.  Here 
is  the  carriage;  1  shall  see  you  in  the  morning,  Miles  —  at 
breakfast,  say — eight  o'clock,  precisely." 

"It  will  be  impossible  —  I  sail  for  Clawbonny  with  the 
first  of  the  flood,  and  that  will  make  at  four.  I  shall  sleep 
in  the  sloop." 

Major  Merton  put  Lucy  into  the  carriage ;  the  good-nights 
were  passed,  and  I  was  left  standing  on  the  lowest  step  of 
«he   building   gazing   after  the   carriage,   Rupert  walking 
swiftly  away. 
38 


446  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 


CHAPTER  XXYIH. 

"  Hear  me  a  little ; 
For  I  have  only  been  silent  so  long-, 
And  given  way  unto  this  course  of  fortune, 
By  noting  of  the  lady :  I  have  mark'd 
A  thousand  blushing  apparitions  start 
Into  her  face ;  a  thousand  innocent  shames 

In  angel  whiteness  bear  away  those  blushes " 

SHAKSP 

I  BEACHED  the  Wallingford  before  eleven,  where  I  found 
Neb  in  attendance  with  my  trunks  and  other  effects.  Being 
now  on  board  my  own  craft,  I  gave  orders  to  profit  by  a 
favourable  turn  in  the  wind,  and  to  get  under-way  at  once, 
instead  of  waiting  for  the  flood.  When  I  left  the  deck,  the 
sloop  was  above  the  State  Prison,  a  point  towards  which  the 
town  itself  had  made  considerable  progress  since  the  time  I 
first  introduced  it  to  the  reader.  Notwithstanding  this  early 
start,  we  did  not  enter  the  creek  until  about  eight  in  the 
morning  of  the  second  day. 

No  sooner  was  the  vessel  near  enough,  than  my  foot  was 
on  the  wharf,  and  I  began  to  ascend  the  hill.  From  the 
summit  of  the  latter  I  saw  my  late  guardian  hurrying  along 
the  road,  it  afterwards  appearing  that  a  stray  paper  from 
town  had  announced  the  arrival  of  the  Dawn,  and  that  I  was 
expected  to  come  up  in  the  sloop.  I  was  received  with  ex 
tended  hands,  was  kissed  just  as  if  I  had  still  been  a  boy, 
and  heard  the  guileless  old  man  murmuring  his  blessings  on 
me,  and  a  prayer  of  thankfulness.  Nothing  ever  changed 
good  Mr.  Hardinge,  who,  now  that  he  could  command  the 
whole  income  of  his  daughter,  was  just  as  well  satisfied  to 
live  on  the  three  or  four  hundreds  he  got  from  his  glebe  and 
his  parish,  as  he  ever  had  been  in  his  life. 

"  Welcome  back,  my  dear  boy,  welcome  back  !"  added 
Mr.  Hardinge,  his  voice  and  manner  still  retaining  their  fer 
vour.  "  I  said  you  must — you  would  be  on  board,  as  soon 
as  they  reported  the  sloop  in  sight,  for  I  judged  your  heart 
by  my  own.  Ah '  Miles,  will  the  time  ever  come  when 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  447 

Clawbonny  will  be  good  enough  for  you?     You  have  al 
ready  as  much   money  as  you  can  want,  and  more  will " 
scarce  contribute  to  your  happiness." 

"Speaking  of  money,  my  dear  sir,"  I  answered,  "  while 
I  have  to  regret  the  loss  of  your  respectable  kinswoman,  I 
may  be  permitted  to  congratulate  you  on  the  accession  to 
an  old  family  property — I  understand  you  inherit,  in  your 
family,  all  of  Mrs.  Bradfort's  estate — one  valuable  in  amount, 
and  highly  acceptable,  no  doubt,  as  having  belonged  to  your 
ancestors." 

"  No  doubt — no  doubt — it  is  just  as  you  say ;  and  I  hope 
these  unexpected  riches  will  leave  us  all  as  devout  servants 
of  God,  as  I  humbly  trust  they  found  us.  The  property, 
however,  is  not  mine,  but  Lucy's  ;  I  need  not  have  any 
reserve  with  you,  though  Rupert  has  hinted  it  might  be  pru 
dent  not  to  let  the  precise  state  of  the  case  be  known,  since 
it  might  bring  a  swarm  of  interested  fortune-hunters  about 
the  dear  girl,  and  has  proposed  that  we  rather  favour  the 
notion  the  estate  is  to  be  divided  among  us.  This  I  cannot 
do  directly,  you  will  perceive,  as  it  would  be  deception  ;  but 
one  may  be  silent.  With  you,  however,  it  is  a  different 
matter,  and  so  I  tell  you  the  truth  at  once.  I  am  made 
executor,  and  act,  of  course ;  and  this  makes  me  the  more 
glad  to  see  you,  for  I  find  so  much  business  with  pounds, 
shillings  and  pence  draws  my  mind  off  from  the  duties  of 
my  holy  office,  and  that  I  am  in  danger  of  becoming  selfish 
and  mercenary.  A  selfish  priest,  Miles,  is  as  odious  a 
thing  as  a  mercenary  woman  !" 

"  Little  danger  of  your  ever  becoming  anything  so  world 
ly,  my  dear  sir.  But  Grace — you  have  not  mentioned  my 
beloved  sister  ?" 

I  saw  Mr.  Hardinge's  countenance  suddenly  change.  The 
expression  of  joy  instantly  deserted  it,  and  it  wore  an  air  of 
uncertainty  and  sadness.  A  less  observant  man  than  the 
good  divine,  in  all  the  ordinary  concerns  of  life,  did  no* 
sxist ;  but  it  was  apparent  that  he  now  saw  something  k 
trouble  him. 

"  Yes,  Grace,"  he  answered,  doubtingly ;  "  the  dear  girl 
is  here,  and  all  alone,  and  not  as  blithe  and  amusing  as  for 
merly.  I  am  glad  of  your  return  on  her  account,  too,  Miles. 
She  is  not  well,  1  fear ;  I  would  have  sent  for  a  physician 


448  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

last  week,  or  the  moment  I  saw  her ;  but  she  insists  on  it, 
there  is  no  need  of  one.  She  is  frightfully  beautiful,  Miles! 
You  know  how  it  is  with  Grace — her  countenance  always 
seemed  more  fitted  for  heaven  than  earth ;  and  now  it  al 
ways  reminds  me  of  a  seraph's  that  was  grieving  over  the 
sins  of  men  !" 

"  I  fear,  sir,  that  Rupert's  account,  then,  is  true,  and  that 
Grace  is  seriously  ill  ?" 

"  I  hope  not,  boy — I  fervently  pray  not!  She  is  not  as 
usual — that  is  true ;  but  her  mind,  her  thoughts,  all  her 
inclinations,  and,  if  I  may  so  express  it,  her  energies,  seem 
turned  to  heaven.  There  has  been  an  awakening  in  the 
spirit  of  Grace,  that  is  truly  wonderful.  She  reads  devout 
books,  meditates,  and,  I  make  no  doubt,  prays,  from  morn 
till  night.  This  is  the  secret  of  her  withdrawal  from  the 
world,  and  her  refusing  of  all  Lucy's  invitations.  You  know 
how  the  girls  love  each  other — but  Grace  declines  going  to 
Lucy,  though  she  knows  that  Lucy  cannot  come  to  her." 

I  now  understood  it  all.  A  weight  like  that  of  a  mountain 
fell  upon  my  heart,  and  I  walked  on  some  distance  without 
speaking.  To  me,  the  words  of  my  excellent  guardian 
sounded  like  the  knell  of  a  sister  I  almost  worshipped. 

"  And  Grace  —  does  she  expect  me,  now  ?"  I  at  length 
ventured  to  say,  though  the  words  were  uttered  in  tones  so 
tremulous,  that  even  the  usually  unobservant  divine  per 
ceived  the  change. 

"  She  does,  and  delighted  she  was  to  hear  it.  The  only 
thing  of  a  worldly  nature  that  I  have  heard  her  express  of 
late,  was  some  anxious,  sisterly  wish  for  your  speedy 
return.  Grace  loves  you,  Miles,  next  to  her  God !" 

Oh  !  how  I  wished  this  were  true,  but,  alas !  alas !  I  knew 
it  was  far  otherwise  ! 

"  I  see  you  are  disturbed,  my  dear  boy,  on  account  of 
what  I  have  said,"  resumed  Mr.  Hardinge ;  "  probably  from 
serious  apprehensions  about  your  sister's  health.  She  is 
not  well,  I  allow ;  but  it  is  the  effect  of  mental  ailments. 
The  precious  creature  has  had  too  vivid  views  of  her  own 
sinful  nature,  and  has  suffered  deeply,  I  fear.  I  trust,  my 
conversation  and  prayers  have  not  been  without  their  effect, 
through  the  divine  aid,  and  that  she  is  now  more  cheerful — 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  449 

nay,  she  has  assured  me  within  half  an  hour,  if  it  turned 
out  that  you  were  in  the  sloop,  she  should  be  happy  !" 

For  my  life,  I  could  not  have  conversed  longer  on  the 
painful  subject ;  I  made  no  reply.  As  we  had  still  a  con 
siderable  distance  to  walk,  I  was  glad  to  turn  the  conversa 
tion  to  other  subjects,  lest  I  should  become  unmanned,  and 
sit  down  to  weep  in  the  middle  of  the  road. 

"  Does  Lucy  intend  to  visit  Clawbonny,  this  summer  ]" 
I  asked,  though  it  seemed  strange  to  me  to  suppose  that  the 
farm  was  not  actually  Lucy's  home.  I  am  afraid  I  felt  a 
jealous  dislike  to  the  idea  that  the  dear  creature  should 
have  houses  and  lands  of  her  own ;  or  any  that  was  not  to 
be  derived  through  me. 

"  I  hope  so,"  answered  her  father,  "  though  her  new  du 
ties  do  not  leave  Lucy  as  much  her  own  mistress  as  I  could 
wish.  You  saw  her,  and  her  brother,  Miles,  I  take  it  for 
granted  ?" 

"  I  met  Rupert  in  the  street,  sir,  and  had  a  short  inter 
view  with  the  Mertons  and  Lucy  at  the  theatre.  Young 
Mr.  and  old  Mrs.  Drewett  were  of  the  party." 

The  good  divine  turned  short  round  to  me,  and  looked  as 
conscious  and  knowing  as  one  of  his  singleness  of  mind  and 
simplicity  of  habits  could  look.  Had  a  knife  penetrated  my 
flesh,  I  could  not  have  winced  more  than  I  did  ;  still,  I  affect 
ed  a  manner  that  was  very  foreign  to  my  feelings. 

"What  do  you  think  of  this  young  Mr.  Drewett,  boy?" 
asked  Mr.  Hardinge,  with  an  air  of  confidential  interest,  and 
an  earnestness  of  manner,  that,  with  him,  was  inseparable 
from  all  that  concerned  his  daughter.  "  Do  you  approve '.'" 

"  I  believe  I  understand  you,  sir ; — you  mean  me  to  infer 
that  Mr.  Drewett  is  a  suitor  for  Miss  Hardinge's  hand." 

"  It  would  be  improper  to  say  this  much,  even  to  you, 
Miles,  did  not  Drewett  take  good  care,  himself,  to  let  every 
body  know  it." 

"Possibly  with  a  view  to  keep  off  other  pretenders" — I 
rejoined,  with  a  bitterness  I  could  not  control. 

Now,  Mr.  Hardinge  was  one  of  the  last  men  in  the  world 
to  suspect  evil.  He  looked  surprised,  therefore,  at  my  re 
mark,  and  I  was  probably  not  much  out  of  the  way,  in  fan 
cying  that  he  looked  displeased. 

"  That  is  not  right,  my  dear  boy,"  he  said,  gravely. 
38* 


450  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

%<  We  should  try  to  think  the  best  and  not  the  worst,  of  our 
fellow-creatures." — Excellent  old  man,  how  faithfully  didst 
thou  practise  on  thy  precept!  —  "It  is  a  wise  rule,  and  a 
safe  one ;  more  particularly  in  connection  with  our  own 
weaknesses.  Then,  it  is  but  natural  that  Drewett  should 
wish  to  secure  Lucy ;  and  if  he  adopt  no  means  less  manly 
than  the  frank  avowal  of  his  own  attachment,  surely  there 
is  no  ground  of  complaint." 

I  was  rebuked ;  and  what  is  more,  I  felt  that  the  rebuke 
was  merited.  As  some  atonement  for  my  error,  I  hastened 
to  add — 

"  Very  truly,  sir ;  I  admit  the  unfairness  of  my  remark, 
and  can  only  atone  for  it  by  adding  it  is  quite  apparent  Mr. 
Drewett  is  not  influenced  by  interested  motives,  since  he 
certainly  was  attentive  to  Miss  Hardinge  previously  to  Mrs. 
Bradfort's  death,  and  when  he  could  not  possibly  have  an 
ticipated  the  nature  of  her  will." 

"  Quite  true,  Miles,  and  very  properly  and  justly  re 
marked.  Now,  to  you,  who  have  known  Lucy  from  child 
hood,  and  who  regard  her  much  as  Rupert  does,  it  may  not 
seem  so  very  natural  that  a  young  man  can  love  her  warmly 
and  strongly,  for  herself,  alone — such  is  apt  to  be  the  effect 
of  brotherly  feeling ;  but  I  can  assure  you,  Lucy  is  really  a 
charming,  as  we  all  know  she  is  a  most  excellent,  girl !" 

"  To  whom  are  you  speaking  thus,  sir !  I  can  assure 
you,  nothing  is  easier  than  for  me  to  conceive  how  possible 
it  is  for  any  man  to  love  your  daughter.  As  respects  Grace, 
I  confess  there  is  a  difference — for  I  affirm  she  has  always 
seemed  to  me  too  saintly,  too  much  allied  to  Heaven  already, 
to  be  subject  herself,  to  the  passions  of  earth." 

"  That  is  what  I  have  just  been  telling  you,  and  we  must 
endeavour  to  overcome  and  humanize — if  I  may  so  express 
it — Grace's  propensity.  There  is  nothing  more  dangerous 
to  a  healthful  frame  of  mind,  in  a  religious  point  of  view, 
Miles,  than  excitement  —  it  is  disease,  and  not  faith,  nor 
charity,  nor  hope,  nor  humility,  nor  anything  that  is  com 
manded  ;  but  our  native  weaknesses  taking  a  wrong  direc 
tion,  under  a  physical  impulse,  rather  than  the  fruits  of 
repentance,  and  the  succour  afforded  by  the  spirit  of  God. 
We  nowhere  read  of  any  excitement,  and  howlings  and 
wailings  among  the  apostles." 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  451 

How  could  I  enlighten  the  good  old  man  on  the  subject 
of  my  sister's  malady  ?  That  Grace,  with  her  well-tempered 
mind,  was  the  victim  of  religious  exaggeration,  I  did  not  for 
a  moment  believe ;  but  that  she  had  had  her  heart  blighted, 
her  affections  withered,  her  hopes  deceived,  by  Rupert's 
levity  and  interestedness,  his  worldly-mindedness  and  vanity, 
I  could  foresee,  and  was  prepared  to  learn  ;  though  these  were 
facts  not  to  be  communicated  to  the  father  of  the  offender. 
I  made  no  answer,  but  managed  to  turn  the  conversation 
towards  the  farm,  and  those  interests  about  which  I  could 
affect  an  interest  that  I  was  very  far  from  feeling,  just  at 
that  moment.  This  induced  the  divine  to  inquire  into  the 
result  of  my  late  voyage,  and  enabled  me  to  collect  sufficient 
fortitude  to  meet  Grace,  with  the  semblance  of  firmness,  at 
least. 

Mr.  Hardinge  made  a  preconcerted  signal,  as  soon  as  he 
came  in  view  of  the  house,  that  apprised  its  inmates  of  my 
arrival ;  and  we  knew,  while  still  half  a  mile  from  the  build 
ings,  that  the  news  had  produced  a  great  commotion.  All 
the  blacks  met  us  on  the  little  lawn  —  for  the  girls,  since 
reaching  womanhood,  had  made  this  change  in  the  old  door- 
yard —  and  I  had  to  go  through  the  process  of  shaking 
hands  with  every  one  of  them.  This  was  done  amid  hearty 
bursts  of  laughter,  the  mode  in  which  the  negroes  of  that 
day  almost  always  betrayed  their  joy,  and  many  a  "  wel 
come  home,  Masser  Mile !"  and  "  where  a  Neb  got  to,  dis 
time,  Masser  Mile?"  was  asked  by  more  than  one;  and 
great  vvas  the  satisfaction,  when  I  told  his  generation  and 
race  that  the  faithful  fellow  would  be  up  with  the  cart  that 
was  to  convey  my  luggage.  But,  Grace  awaited  me.  I 
broke  through  the  throng,  and  entered  the  house.  In  the 
door  I  was  met  by  Chloe,  a  girl  about  my  own  sister's  age, 
and  a  sort  of  cousin  of  Neb's  by  the  half-blood,  who  had 
been  preferred  of  late  years  to  functions  somewhat  resem 
bling  those  of  a  lady's  maid.  I  say  of  the  half-blood  ;  for, 
to  own  the  truth,  few  of  the  New  York  blacks,  in  that  day, 
could  have  taken  from  their  brothers  and  sisters,  under  the 
old  dictum  of  the  common  law,  which  declared  that  none 
but  heirs  of  the  whole  blood  should  inherit.  Chloe  met  me  in 
the  door- way,  and  greeted  me  with  one  of  her  sweetest 
smiles,  as  she  curtsied,  and  really  looked  as  pleased  as  all 


452  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

my  slaves  did,  at  seeing  their  young  master  again.  How 
they  touched  my  heart,  at  times,  by  their  manner  of  talking 
about  "  ole  Masser,  and  ole  Missus,"  always  subjects  of  re 
gret  among  negroes  who  had  been  well  treated  by  them. 
Metaphysicians  may  reason  as  subtly  as  they  can  about 
the  races  and  colours,  and  on  the  aptitude  of  the  black  to 
acquire,  but  no  one  can  ever  persuade  me  out  of  the  belief 
of  their  extraordinary  aptitude  to  love.  As  between  them 
selves  and  their  masters,  their  own  children  and  those  of 
the  race  to  which  they  were  subject,  I  have  often  seen  in 
stances  which  have  partaken  of  the  attachment  of  the  dog 
to  the  human  family ;  and  cases  in  which  the  children  of 
their  masters  have  been  preferred  to  those  of  their  own  flesh 
and  blood,  were  of  constant  occurrence. 

"  I  hope  you  been  werry  well,  sah,  Masser  Mile,"  said 
Chloe,  who  had  some  extra  refinement,  as  the  growth  of  her 
position. 

"  Perfectly,  my  good  girl,  and  I  am  glad  to  see  you  look 
ing  so  well  —  you  really  are  growing  handsome,  Chloe." 

"  Oh  !  Masser  Mile — you  so  droll ! — now  you  stay  home, 
sah,  long  time  ?" 

"  I  am  afraid  not,  Chloe,  but  one  never  knows.  Where 
shall  I  find  my  sister  ?" 

"  Miss  Grace  tell  me  come  here,  Masser  Mile,  and  say 
she  wish  to  see  you  in  de  family-room.  She  wait  dere,  now, 
some  time." 

"  Thank  you,  Chloe ;  and  do  you  see  that  no  one  inter 
rupts  us.  I  have  not  seen  my  sister  for  near  a  year." 

"  Sartain,  sah ;  all  as  you  say."  Then  the  girl,  whose 
face  shone  like  a  black  bottle  that  had  just  been  dipped  in 
water,  showed  her  brilliant  teeth,  from  ear  to  ear,  laughed 
outright,  looked  foolish,  after  which  she  looked  earnest, 
when  the  secret  burst  out  of  her  heart,  in  the  melodious 
voice  of  a  young  negress,  that  did  not  know  whether  to 
laugh  or  to  cry  —  "  Where  Neb,  Masser  Mile?  what  he  do 
now,  de  /eZ-ler !" 

"  He  will  kiss  you  in  ten  minutes,  Cnloe ;  so  put  the  best 
face  on  the  matter  you  are  able." 

"  Dat  he  wont — de  sauce-box  —  Miss  Grace  teach  me 
better  dan  dat." 

I  waited  to  hear  no  more,   but  proceeded  towards  the 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  453 

triangular  little  room,  with  steps  so  hurried  and  yet  so  ner 
vous,  that  I  do  not  remember,  ever  before  to  have  laid  my 
hand  on  a  lock  in  a  manner  so  tremulous  —  I  found  myself 
obliged  to  pause,  ere  I  could  muster  resolution  to  open  the 
door,  a  hope  coming  over  me  that  the  impatience  of  Grace 
would  save  me  the  trouble,  and  that  I  should  find  her  in 
my  arms  before  I  should  be  called  on  to  exercise  any  more 
fortitude.  All  was  still  as  death,  however,  within  the  room, 
and  I  opened  the  door,  as  if  I  expected  to  find  one  of  the 
hodies  I  had  formerly  seen  in  its  coffin,  in  this  last  abiding 
place  above  ground,  of  one  dead.  My  sister  was  on  the 
causeuse,  literally  unable  to  rise  from  debility  and  agitation. 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  the  shock  her  appearance 
gave  me.  I  was  prepared  for  a  change,  but  not  one  that 
placed  her,  as  my  heart  instantly  announced,  so  near  the 
grave ! 

Grace  extended  both  arms,  and  I  threw  myself  at  her 
side,  drew  her  within  my  embrace,  and  folded  her  to  my 
heart,  with  the  tenderness  with  which  one  would  have  em 
braced  an  infant.  In  this  situation  we  both  wept  violently, 
and  I  am  not  ashamed  to  say  that  I  sobbed  like  a  child.  I 
dare  say  five  minutes  passed  in  this  way,  without  either  of 
u-s  speaking  a  word. 

"  A  merciful  and  all-gracious  God  be  praised  !  You  are 
restored  to  me  in  time,  Miles  !"  murmured  my  sister,  at 
length.  "  I  was  afraid  it  might  be  too  late." 

"  Grace  !  —  Grace  !  — What  means  this,  love  ?  —  my  pre 
cious,  my  only,  my  most  dearly  beloved  sister,  why  do  I 
find  you  thus  ?" 

"  Is  it  necessary  to  speak,  Miles  ? — cannot  you  see  ? — do 
you  not  see,  and  understand  it  all  ?" 

The  fervent  pressure  I  gave  my  sister,  announced  how 
plainly  I  comprehended  the  whole  history.  That  Grace 
could  ever  love,  and  forget,  I  did  not  believe ;  but,  that  her 
tenderness  for  Rupert  —  one  whom  I  knew  for  so  frivolous 
and  selfish  a  being,  should  reduce  her  to  this  terrible  state, 
I  had  not  indeed  foreseen  as  a  thing  possible.  Little  did  I 
then  understand  how  confidingly  a  woman  loves,  and  how 
apt  she  is  to  endow  the  being  of  her  choice  with  all  the 
qualities  she  could  wish  him  to  possess.  In  the  anguish  of 


454  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

my  soul  I  muttered,  loud  enough  to  be  heard,  "  the  heartless 
villain  1" 

Grace  instantly  rose  from  my  arms.  At  that  moment 
she  looked  more  like  a  creature  of  heaven,  than  one  that 
was  still  connected  with  this  wicked  world.  Her  beauty 
could  scarcely  be  called  impaired,  though  I  dreaded  that  she 
would  be  snatched  away  from  me  in  the  course  of  the  inter 
view  ;  so  frail  and  weak  did  it  appear  was  her  hold  of  life. 
In  some  respects  I  never  saw  her  more  lovely  than  she 
seemed  on  this  very  occasion.  This  was  when  the  hectic 
of  disease  imparted  to  the  sweetest  and  most  saint-like  eyes 
that  were  ever  set  in  the  human  countenance,  a  species  of 
holy  illumination.  Her  countenance,  now,  was  pale  and 
colourless,  however,  and  her  look  sorrowful  and  filled  with 
reproach. 

"  Brother,"  she  said,  solemnly,  "  this  must  not  be.  It  is 
not  what  God  commands  —  it  is  not  what  I  expected  from 
you  —  what  I  have  a  right  to  expect  from  one  whom  I  am 
assured  loves  me,  though  none  other  of  earth  can  be  said  to 
do  so." 

"  It  is  not  easy,  my  sister,  for  a  man  to  forget  or  forgive 
the  wretch  who  has  so  long  misled  you — misled  us  all,  and 
then  turned  to  another,  under  the  impulse  of  mere  vanity." 

11  Miles,  my  kind  and  manly  brother,  listen  to  me,"  Grace 
rejoined,  fervently  pressing  one  of  my  hands  in  both  of  hers, 
and  scarcely  able  to  command  herself,  through  alarm.  "  All 
thoughts  of  anger,  of  resentment,  of  pride  even,  must  be  for. 
gotten.  You  owe  it  to  my  sex,  to  the  dreadful  imputations 
that  might  otherwise  rest  on  my  name  —  had  I  anything  to 
reproach  myself  with  as  a  woman.  I  could  submit  to  any 
punishment ;  but  surely,  surely,  it  is  not  a  sin  so  unpardona 
ble  to  be  unable  to  command  the  affections,  that  I  deserve 
to  have  my  name,  after  I  shall  be  dead,  mixed  up  with  ru 
mours  connected  with  such  a  quarrel.  You  have  lived  as 
brothers,  too — then  there  is  good,  excellent,  truthful,  pious 
Mr.  Hardinge ;  who  is  yet  my  guardian,  you  know ;  and 
Lucy,  dear,  true-hearted,  faithful  Lucy " 

"  Why  is  not  dear,  true-hearted,  faithful  Lucy,  here, 
watching  over  you,  Grace,  at  this  very  moment?"  I  de 
manded,  huskily. 

"  She  knows  nothing  of  my  situation  —  it  is  a  secret,  as 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  455 

well  as  its  cause,  from  all  but  God,  myself,  and  you.  Ah  ! 
1  knew  it  would  be  impossible  to  deceive  your  love,  Miles ! 
which  has  ever  been  to  me,  all  that  a  sister  could  desire." 

"  And  Lucy  !  how  has  her  affection  been  deceived  ? — 
Has  she  too,  eyes  only  for  those  she  has  recently  learned  to 
admire?" 

"  You  do  her  injustice,  brother.  Lucy  has  not  seen  me, 
since  the  great  change  that  I  can  myself  see  has  come  over 
me.  Another  time,  I  will  tell  you  all.  At  present  I  can 
only  say,  that  as  soon  as  I  had  certain  explanations  with 
Rupert,  I  left  town,  and  have  studiously  concealed  from  dear 
Lucy  the  state  of  my  declining  health.  I  write  to  her 
weekly,  and  get  answers ;  everything  passing  between  us 
as  cheerfully,  and  apparently,  as  happily  as  ever.  No,  do 
not  blame  Lucy  ;  who,  I  am  certain,  would  quit  everything 
and  everybody  to  come  to  me,  had  she  the  smallest  notion 
of  the  truth.  On  the  contrary,  I  believe  she  thinks  I  would 
rather  not  have  her  at  Clawbonny,  just  at  this  moment, 
much  as  she  knows  I  love  her ;  for,  one  of  Lucy's  observa 
tion  and  opportunities  cannot  but  suspect  the  truth.  Let  me 
lie  on  your  breast,  brother;  it  wearies  me  to  talk  so 
much." 

I  sat  holding  this  beloved  sister  in  my  arms,  fully  an 
hour,  neither  of  us  speaking.  I  was  afraid  of  injuring  her, 
by  further  excitement,  and  she  was  glad  to  take  refuge  in 
silence,  from  the  feelings  of  maiden  shame  that  could  not 
be  otherwise  than  mingled  with  such  a  dialogue.  As  my 
cheek  leaned  on  her  silken  hair,  I  could  see  large  tears 
rolling  down  the  pallid  cheeks  ;  but  the  occasional  pressure 
of  the  hands,  told  me  how  much  she  was  gladdened  by  my 
presence.  After  some  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  the  exhausted 
girl  dropped  into  feverish  and  disturbed  slumbers,  that  I 
would  have  remained  motionless  throughout  the  night  to 
maintain.  I  am  persuaded  it  was  quite  an  hour  before  this 
scene  terminated.  Grace  then  arose,  and  said,  with  one  of 
her  most  angelic  smiles — 

"You  see  how  it  is  with  me,  Miles — feeble  as  an  infant, 
and  almost  as  troublesome.  You  must  bear  with  me,  for 
you  will  be  my  nurse.  One  promise  I  must  have,  dearest, 
before  we  leave  this  room." 

"  It  is  yours,  my  sister,  let  it  be  what  it  may ;  I  can  now 


456  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

refuse  you  nothing,"  said  I,  melted  to  feminine  tenderness. 
"  And  yet,  Grace,  since  you  exact  a  promise,  /  have  a  mind 
to  attach  a  condition." 

"  What  condition,  Miles,  can  you  attach,  that  I  will  re 
fuse  ?  I  consent  to  everything,  without  even  knowing  your 
wishes." 

"  Then  I  promise  not  to  call  Rupert  to  an  account  for  his 
conduct — not  to  question  him — nay,  even  not  to  reproach 
him,"  I  rejoined,  enlarging  my  pledges,  as  I  saw  by  Grace's 
eyes  that  she  exacted  still  more. 

The  last  promise,  however,  appeared  fully  to  satisfy  her. 
She  kissed  my  hand,  and  I  felt  hot  tears  falling  on  it. 

"  Now  name  your  conditions,  dearest  brother,"  she  said, 
after  a  little  time  taken  to  recover  herself;  "  name  them, 
and  see  how  gladly  I  shall  accept  them  all." 

"I  have  but  one  — it  is  this.  I  must  take  the  complete 
direction  of  the  care  of  you — must  have  power  to  send  for 
what  physician  I  please,  what  friends  I  please,  what  advice 
or  regimen  I  please  !" 

"  Oh !  Miles,  you  could  not — cannot  think  of  sending  for 
him  /" 

"  Certainly  not ;  his  presence  would  drive  me  from  the 
house.  With  that  one  exception,  then,  my  condition  is 
allowed?" 

Grace  made  a  sign  of  assent,  and  sunk  on  my  bosom 
again,  nearly  exhausted  with  the  scene  through  which  she 
had  just  gone.  I  perceived  it  would  not  do  to  dwell  any 
longer  on  the  subject  we  had  been  alluding  to,  rather  than 
discussing ;  and  for  another  hour  did  I  sit  sustaining  that  be 
loved  form,  declining  to  speak,  and  commanding  silence  on  her 
part.  At  the  end  of  this  second  little  sleep,  Grace  was  more 
refreshed  than  she  had  been  after  her  first  troubled  repose, 
and  she  declared  herself  able  to  walk  to  her  room,  where 
she  wished  to  lie  on  her  own  bed  until  the  hour  of  dinner. 
I  summoned  Chloe,  and,  together,  we  led  the  invalid  to  her 
chamber.  As  we  threaded  the  long  passages,  my  sister's 
head  rested  on  my  bosom,  her  eyes  were  turned  affection 
ately  upward  to  my  face,  and  several  times  I  felt  the  gentle 
pressure  of  her  emaciated  hands,  given  in  the  fervour  of 
devoted  sisterly  love. 

I  needed  an  hour  to  compose  myself,  after  this  interview. 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  457 

In  the  privacy  of  my  own  room,  I  wept  like  a  child  over 
the  wreck  of  the  being  I  had  left  so  beautiful  and  perfect, 
though  even  then  the  canker  of  doubt  had  begun  to  take 
root.  I  had  yet  her  explanations  to  hear,  and  resolved  to 
command  myself  so  far  as  to  receive  them  in  a  manner  not 
to  increase  the  pain  Grace  must  feel  in  making  them.  As 
soon  as  sufficiently  calm,  I  sat  down  to  write  letters.  One 
was  to  Marble.  I  desired  him  to  let  the  second-mate  see 
the  ship  discharged,  and  to  come  up  to  me  by  the  return  of 
the  sloop.  I  wished  to  see  him  in  person,  as  I  did  not  think 
I  could  be  able  to  go  out  in  the  vessel  on  her  next  voyage, 
and  I  intended  him  to  sail  in  her  as  master.  It  was  neces 
sary  we  should  consult  together  personally.  I  did  not  con 
ceal  the  reason  of  this  determination,  though  I  said  nothing 
of  the  cause  of  my  sister's  state.  Marble  had  a  list  of  phy 
sicians  given  him,  and  he  was  to  bring  up  with  him  the  one 
he  could  obtain,  commencing  with  the  first  named,  and  fol 
lowing  in  the  order  given.  I  had  earned  ten  thousand  dol 
lars,  nett,  by  the  labours  of  the  past  year,  and  I  determined 
every  dollar  of  it  should  be  devoted  to  obtaining  the  best 
advice  the  country  then  afforded.  I  had  sent  for  such  men 
as  Hosack,  Post,  Bayley,  M'Knight,  Moore,  &c. ;  and  even 
thought  of  endeavouring  to  procure  Rush  from  Philadelphia, 
but  was  deterred  from  making  the  attempt  by  the  distance, 
and  the  pressing  nature  of  the  emergency.  In  1803,  Phila 
delphia  was  about  three  days'  journey  from  Clawbonny, 
even  allowing  for  a  favourable  time  on  the  river ;  with  a 
moderately  unfavourable,  five  or  six  ;  whereas  the  distance 
can  now  be  passed,  including  the  chances  of  meeting  the 
departures  and  arrivals  of  the  different  lines,  in  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  hours.  Such  is  one  of  the  prodigious  effects  of  an 
improved  civilization ;  and  in  all  that  relates  to  motion,  and 
which  falls  short  of  luxury,  or  great  personal  comfort,  this 
country  takes  a  high  place  in  the  scale  of  nations.  That  it 
is  as  much  in  arrears  in  other  great  essentials,  however, 
particularly  in  what  relates  to  tavern  comforts,  no  man  who 
is  familiar  with  the  better  civilization  of  Europe,  can  deny. 
It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  we  have  gone  backward  in  this 
last  particular,  within  the  present  century,  and  all  owing  to 
the  increasingly  gregarious  habits  of  the  population.  But, 


458  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

to  return  to  my  painful  theme,  from  which,  even  at  this  <ft» 
tance  of  time,  I  am  only  too  ready  to  escape. 

I  was  on  the  point  of  writing  to  Lucy,  but  hesitated.  I 
hardly  knew  whether  to  summon  her  to  Clawbonny  or  not. 
That  she  would  come,  and  that  instantly,  the  moment  she 
was  apprised  of  Grace's  condition,  I  did  not  in  the  least 
doubt.  I  was  not  so  mad  as  to  do  her  character  injustice, 
because  I  had  my  doubts  about  being  loved  as  I  had  once 
hoped  to  be.  That  Lucy  was  attached  to  me,  in  one  sense, 
I  did  not  in  t^ie  least  doubt ;  this,  her  late  reception  of  me 
sufficiently  proved ;  and  I  could  not  question  her  continued 
affection  for  Grace,  after  all  the  latter  had  just  told  me. 
Even  did  Lucy  prefer  Andrew  Drewett,  it  was  no  proof 
she  was  not  just  as  kind-hearted,  as  ready  to  be  of  service, 
and  as  true  in  her  friendship,  as  she  ever  had  been.  Still, 
she  was  Rupert's  sister,  must  have  penetration  enough  to 
understand  the  cause  of  Grace's  illness,  and  might  not  enter 
as  fully  into  her  wrongs  as  one  could  wish  in  a  person  that 
was  to  watch  the  sick  pillow.  I  resolved  to  learn  more  that 
day,  before  this  portion  of  my  duty  was  discharged. 

Neb  was  summoned,  and  sent  to  the  wharf,  with  an  order 
to  get  the  Wallingford  ready  to  sail  for  town  at  the  first 
favourable  moment.  The  sloop  was  merely  to  be  in  ballast, 
and  was  to  return  to  Clawbonny  with  no  unnecessary  delay. 
There  was  an  eminent,  but  retired  physician  of  the  name  of 
Bard,  who  had  a  country  residence  on  the  other  bank  of 
the  Hudson,  and  within  a  few  hours'  sail  from  Clawbonny.  I 
knew  his  character,  though  I  was  not  acquainted  with  him, 
personally.  Few  of  us  of  the  right  bank,  indeed,  belonged 
to  the  circles  of  the  left,  in  that  day ;  the  increasing  wealth 
and  population  of  the  country  has  since  brought  the  western 
side  into  more  notice.  I  wrote  also  to  Dr.  Bard,  inclosing 
a  cheque  for  a  suitable  fee ;  made  a  strong  appeal  to  his 
feelings — which  would  have  been  quite  sufficient  with  such 
a  man — and  ordered  Neb  to  go  out  in  the  Grace  and  Lucy, 
immediately,  to  deliver  the  missive.  Just  as  this  arrange 
ment  was  completed,  Chloe  came  to  summon  me  to  my  sis« 
fer's  room. 

I  found  Grace  still  lying  on  her  bed,  but  stronger,  and 
materially  refreshed.  For  a  moment,  I  began  to  think  my 
fears  had  exaggerated  the  danger,  and  that  I  was  not  to  lose 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  459 

my  sister.  A  few  minutes  of  close  observation,  however, 
convinced  me,  that  the  first  impression  was  the  true  one.  I 
am  not  skilled  in  the  theories  of  the  science,  if  there  be  any 
great  science  about  it,  and  can  hardly  explain,  even  now, 
the  true  physical  condition  of  Grace.  She  had  pent  up  her 
sufferings  in  her  own  bosom,  for  six  cruel  months,  in  the  soli 
tude  of  a  country-house,  living  most  of  the  time  entirely  alone ; 
and  this,  they  tell  me,  is  what  few,  even  of  the  most  robust 
frames,  can  do  with  impunity.  Frail  as  she  had  ever  seem 
ed,  her  lungs  were  sound,  and  she  spoke  easily  and  with 
almost  all  her  original  force,  so  that  her  wasting  away  was 
not  the  consequence  of  anything  pulmonary.  I  rather  think 
the  physical  effects  were  to  be  traced  to  the  unhealthy  action 
of  the  fluids,  which  were  deranged  through  the  stomach  and 
spleen.  The  insensible  perspiration  was  affected  also,  I 
believe  ;  the  pores  of  the  skin  failing  to  do  their  duty.  I 
dare  say  there  is  not  a  graduate  of  the  thousand  and  one 
medical  colleges  of  the  country,  who  is  not  prepared  to 
laugh  at  this  theory,  while  unable  quite  likely  to  produce  a 
better, — so  much  easier  is  it  to  pull  down  than  to  build  up , 
but  my  object  is  merely  to  give  the  reader  a  general  idea  of 
my  poor  sister's  situation.  In  outward  appearance,  her 
countenance  denoted  that  expression  which  the  French  so 
well  describe,  by  their  customary  term  of  "  fatigue"  rather 
than  any  other  positive  indication  of  disease — Grace's  frame 
was  so  delicate  by  nature,  that  a  little  falling  away  was  not 
as  perceptible  in  her,  as  it  would  have  been  in  most  persons; 
though  her  beautiful  little  hands  wanted  that  fulness  which 
had  rendered  their  taper  fingers  and  roseate  tint  formerly 
so  very  faultless.  There  must  have  been  a  good  deal  of 
fever,  as  her  colour  was  often  higher  than  was  formerly 
usual.  It  was  this  circumstance  that  continued  to  render  her 
beauty  even  unearthly,  without  its  being  accompanied  by 
the  emaciation  so  common  in  the  latter  stages  of  pulmonary 
disease,  though  its  tendency  was  strongly  to  undermine  hef 
strength. 

Grace,  without  rising  from  her  pillow,  now  asked  me  for 
an  outline  of  my  late  voyage.  She  heard  me,  I  make  no 
doubt,  with  real  interest*,  for  all  that  concerned  me,  in  a 
measure  concerned  her.  Her  smile  was  sweetness  itself,  as 
she  listened  to  my  successes;  and  the  interest  she  manifested 


460  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

in  Marble,  with  whose  previous  history  she  was  well  ac 
quainted,  was  not  less  than  I  had  felt  myself,  in  hearing  his 
own  account  of  his  adventures.  All  this  delighted  me,  as  it 
went  to  prove  that  I  had  beguiled  the  sufferer  from  brood 
ing  over  her  own  sorrows ;  and  what  might  not  be  hoped 
for,  could  we  lead  her  back  to  mingle  in  the  ordinary  con 
cerns  of  life,  and  surround  her  with  the  few  friends  she  so 
tenderly  loved,  and  whose  absence,  perhaps,  had  largely 
contributed  to  reducing  her  to  her  present  state?  This 
thought  recalled  Lucy  to  my  mind,  and  the  wish  I  had  to 
ascertain  how  far  it  might  be  agreeable  to  the  latter,  to  be 
summoned  to  Clawbonny.  I  determined  to  lead  the  con 
versation  to  this  subject. 

"  You  have  told  me,  Grace,"  I  said,  "  that  you  send  and 
receive  letters  weekly,  to  and  from  Lucy  ?" 

"  Each  time  the  Wallingford  goes  and  comes  ;  and  that 
you  know  is  weekly.  I  suppose  the  reason  I  got  no  letter 
to-day  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  sloop  sailed  before  her 
time.  The  Lord  High  Admiral  was  on  board  ;  and,  like 
wind  and  tide,  he  waits  for  no  man !" 

"Bless  you  —  bless  you.  dearest  sister  —  this  gaiety  re 
moves  a  mountain  from  my  heart !" 

Grace  looked  pleased  at  first ;  then,  as  she  gazed  wist 
fully  into  my  face,  I  could  see  her  own  expression  change 
to  one  of  melancholy  concern.  Large  tears  started  from  her 
eyes,  and  three  or  four  followed  each  other  down  her  cheeks. 
All  this  said,  plainer  than  words,  that,  though  a  fond  brother 
might  be  momentarily  deceived,  she  herself  foresaw  the  end. 
I  bowed  my  head  to  the  pillow,  stifled  the  groans  that  op 
pressed  me,  and  kissed  the  tears  from  her  cheeks.  To  put 
an  end  to  these  distressing  scenes,  I  determined  to  be  more 
business-like  in  future,  and  suppress  all  feeling,  as  much  as 
possible. 

"  The  Lord  High  Admiral,"  I  resumed,  "  is  a  species  of 
Turk,  on  board  ship,  as  honest  Moses  Marble  will  tell  you, 
when  you  see  him,  Grace.  But,  now  for  Lucy  and  her  let 
ters —  I  dare  say  the  last  are  filled  with  tender  secrets, 
touching  such  persons  as  Andrew  Drewett,  and  others  of 
her  admirers,  which  render  it  improper  to  show  any  of  them 
to  me  ?" 

Grace  looked  at  nre,  with  earnestness,  as  if  to  ascertain 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  461 

whether  I  was  really  as  unconcerned  as  I  affected  to  be. 
Then  she  seemed  to  muse,  picking  the  cotton  of  the  spotless 
counterpane  on  which  she  was  lying,  like  one  at  a  loss  what 
to  say  or  think. 

"  I  see  how  it  is,"  I  resumed,  forcing  a  smile  ;  "  the  hint 
has  been  indiscreet.  A  rough  son  of  Neptune  is  not  the 
proper  confidant  for  the  secrets  of  Miss  Lucy  Hardinge. 
Perhaps  you  are  right ;  fidelity  to  each  other  being  indis 
pensable  in  your  sex." 

"  It  is  not  that,  Miles.  I  doubt  if  Lucy  ever  wrote  me  a 
line,  that  you  might  not  see  —  in  proof  of  which,  you  shall 
have  the  package  of  her  letters,  with  full  permission  to  read 
every  one  of  them.  It  will  be  like  reading  the  correspond 
ence  of  another  sister  /" 

I  fancied  Grace  laid  an  emphasis  on  the  last  word  she 
used ;  and  I  started  at  its  unwelcome  sound  —  unwelcome, 
as  applied  to  Lucy  Hardinge,  to  a  degree  that  I  cannot  ex 
press.  I  had  observed  that  Lucy  never  used  any  of  these 
terms,  as  connected  with  me,  and  it  was  one  of  the  reasons 
why  I  had  indulged  in  the  folly  of  supposing  that  she  was 
conscious  of  a  tenderer  sentiment.  But  Lucy  was  so 
natural,  so  totally  free  from  exaggeration,  so  just  and  true 
in  all  her  feelings,  that  one  could  not  expect  from  her  most 
of  the  acts  of  girlish  weakness.  As  for  Grace,  she  called 
Chloe,  gave  her  the  keys  of  her  secretary,  and  told  her  to 
bring  me  the  package  she  described. 

"  Go  and  look  them  over,  Miles,"  said  my  sister,  as  I  re 
ceived  the  letters ;  "  there  must  be  more  than  twenty  of 
them,  and  you  can  read  half  before  the  dinner  hour.  I  will 
meet  you  at  table ;  and  let  me  implore  you  not  to  alarm 
good  Mr.  Hardinge.  He  does  not  believe  me  seriously  ill ; 
and  it  cannot  benefit  him  or  me,  to  cause  him  pain." 

I  promised  discretion,  and  hastened  to  my  own  room, 
with  the  precious  bundle  of  Lucy's  letters.  Shall  I  own  the 
truth?  I  kissed  the  papers,  fervently,  before  they  were 
loosened,  and  it  seemed  to  me  I  possessed  a  treasure,  in 
holding  in  my  hand  so  many  of  the  dear  girl's  epistles.  I 
commenced  in  the  order  of  the  date,  and  began  to  read  with 
eagerness.  It  was  impossible  for  Lucy  Hardinge  to  write 
to  one  she  loved,  and  not  exhibit  the  truth  and  nature  of 
her  feelings.  These  appeared  in  every  paragraph  in  which 
39  * 


462  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

it  was  proper  to  make  any  allusions  of  the  sort.  But  the 
letters  had  other  charms.  It  was  apparent,  throughout,  that 
the  writer  was  ignorant  that  she  wrote  to  an  invalid,  though 
she  could  not  but  know  that  she  wrote  to  a  recluse.  Her 
aim  evidently  was  to  amuse  Grace,  of  whose  mental  suffer 
ings  she  could  not  well  be  ignorant.  Lucy  was  a  keen 
observer,  and  her  epistles  were  filled  with  amusing  com 
ments  on  the  follies  that  were  daily  committed  in  New 
York,  as  well  as  in  Paris,  or  London.  I  was  delighted  with 
the  delicate  pungency  of  her  satire,  which,  however,  was 
totally  removed  from  vulgar  scandal.  There  was  nothing 
in  these  letters  that  might  not  have  been  uttered  in  a  draw 
ing-room,  to  any  but  the  persons  concerned ;  and  yet  they 
were  filled  with  a  humour  that  rose  often  to  wit,  relieved  by 
a  tact  and  taste  that  a  man  never  could  have  attained. 
Throughout,  it  was  apparent  to  me,  Lucy,  in  order  to  amuse 
Grace,  was  giving  a  full  scope  to  a  natural  talent — one  that 
far  surpassed  the  same  capacity  in  her  brother,  being  as 
true  as  his  was  meritricious  and  Jesuitical — which  she  had 
hitherto  concealed  from  us  all,  merely  because  she  had  not 
seen  an  occasion  fit  for  its  use.  Allusions  in  the  letters, 
themselves,  proved  that  Grace  had  commented  on  this  unex 
pected  display  of  observant  humour,  and  had  expressed  her 
surprise  at  its  existence.  It  was  then  as  novel  to  my  sister 
as  it  was  to  myself.  I  was  struck  also  with  the  fact,  that 
Rupert's  name  did  not  appear  once  in  all  these  letters.  They 
embraced  just  twenty-seven  weeks,  between  the  earliest  and 
the  latest  date  ;  and  there  were  nine-and-twenty  letters,  two 
having  been  sent  by  private  conveyances  ;  her  father's,  most 
probably,  he  occasionally  making  the  journey  by  land ;  yet 
no  one  of  them  contained  the  slightest  allusion  to  her  bro 
ther,  or  to  either  of  the  Mertons.  This  was  enough  to  let 
me  know  how  well  Lucy  understood  the  reason  of  Grace's 
withdrawal  to  Clawbonny. 

"  And  how  was  it  with  Miles  Wallingford's  name  ?"  some 
of  my  fair  readers  may  be  ready  to  ask.  I  went  carefully 
through  the  package  in  the  course  of  the  evening,  and  I  set 
aside  two,  as  the  only  exceptions  in  which  my  name  did  not 
appear.  On  examining  these  two  with  jealous  care,  I  found 
each  had  a  postscript,  one  of  which  was  to  the  following 
effect ;  "  I  see  by  the  papers  that  Miles  has  sailed  for  Malta, 


AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE.  463 

having  at  last  left  those  stubborn  Turks.  I  am  glad  of  this, 
as  one  would  not  wish  to  have  the  excellent  fellow  shut  up 
in  the  Seven  Towers,  however  honourable  it  may  have 
been."  The  other  postscript  contained  this  :  "  Dear  Miles 
has  got  to  Leghorn,  my  father  tells  me,  and  may  be  expect 
ed  home  this  summer.  How  great  happiness  this  will  bring 
you,  dearest  Grace,  I  can  well  understand ;  and  I  need 
scarcely  say  that  no  one  will  rejoice  more  to  see  him  again, 
than  his  late  guardian  and  myself." 

That  the  papers  were  often  looked  over  to  catch  reports 
of  my  movements  in  Europe,  by  means  of  ships  arriving 
from  different  parts  of  the  world,  was  apparent  enough;  but 
I  scarce  knew  what  to  make  of  the  natural  and  simply  affec 
tionate  manner  in  which  my  name  was  introduced.  It  might 
proceed  from  a  wish  to  gratify  Grace,  and  a  desire  to  let 
the  sister  know  all  that  she  herself  possessed  touching  the 
brother's  movements.  Then  Andrew  Drewett's  name  oc 
curred  very  frequently,  though  it  was  generally  in  connec 
tion  with  that  of  his  mother,  who  had  evidently  constituted 
herself  a  sort  of  regular  chaperone  for  Lucy,  more  espe 
cially  during  the  time  she  was  kept  out  of  the  gay  world  by 
her  mourning.  I  read  several  of  these  passages  with  the 
most  scrupulous  attention,  in  order  to  detect  the  feeling  with 
which  they  had  been  written  ;  but  the  most  practised  art 
could  not  have  more  successfully  concealed  any  secret  of 
this  sort,  than  Lucy's  nature.  This  often  proves  to  be  the 
case  ;  the  just-minded  and  true  among  men  daily  becoming 
the  profoundest  mysteries  to  a  vicious,  cunning,  deceptive 
and  selfish  world.  An  honest  man,  indeed,  is  ever  a  parodox 
to  all  but  those  who  see  things  with  his  own  eyes.  This  is 
the  reason  that  improper  motives  are  so  often  imputed  to 
the  simplest  and  seemingly  most  honest  deeds. 

The  result  was,  to  write,  entreating  Lucy  to  come  to 
Clawbonny  ;  first  taking  care  to  secure  her  father's  assent, 
to  aid  my  request.  This  was  done  in  a  way  rot  to  awaken 
any  alarm,  and  yet  with  sufficient  strength  to  render  it  tole 
rably  certain  she  would  come.  On  deliberate  reflection,  and 
after  seeing  my  sister  at  table,  where  she  ate  nothing  but  a 
light  vegetable  diet,  and  passing  the  evening  with  her,  I 
thought  I  could  not  do  less  in  justice  to  the  invalid  or  her 
friend.  I  took  the  course  with  great  regret  on  several  ao 


464  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE. 

counts  ;  and,  among  others,  from  a  reluctance  to  appear  to 
draw  Lucy  away  from  the  society  of  my  rival,  into  my  own. 
Yet  what  right  had  I  to  call  myself  the  rival  or  competitoi 
of  a  man  who  had  openly  professed  an  attachment,  where  I 
had  never  breathed  a  syllable  myself  that  might  not  readily 
be  mistaken  for  the  language  of  that  friendship,  which  time, 
and  habit,  and  a  respect  for  each  other's  qualities,  so  easily 
awaken  among  the  young  of  different  sexes  1  I  had  been 
educated  almost  as  Lucy's  brother ;  and  why  should  she  not 
feel  towards  me  as  one  ? 

Neb  went  out  in  the  boat  as  soon  as  he  got  his  orders 
and  the  Wallingford  sailed  again  in  ballast  that  very  night. 
She  did  not  remain  at  the  wharf  an  hour  after  her  wheat 
was  out.  I  felt  easier  when  these  duties  were  discharged, 
and  was  better  prepared  to  pass  the  night  in  peace.  Grace's 
manner  and  appearance,  too,  contributed  to  this  calm ;  for 
she  seemed  to  revive,  and  to  experience  some  degree  of 
earthly  happiness,,  in  having  her  brother  near  her.  When- 
Mr.  Hardinge  read  prayers  that  night,  she  came  to  the  chair 
where  I  stood,  took  my  hand  in  hers,  and  knelt  at  my  side. 
I  was  touched  to  tears  by  this  act  of  affection,  which  spoke 
as  much  of  the  tenderness  of  the  sainted  and  departed  spirit, 
lingering  around  those  it  had.loved  on  earth,  as  of  the  affec 
tion  of  the  world.  I  folded  the  dear  girl  to  my  bosom,  as  I 
left  her  at  the  door  of  her  own  room  that  night,  and  went  to 
my  own  pillow,  with  a  heavy  heart.  Seamen  pray  little ; 
less  than  they  ought,  amid  the  rude  scenes  of  their  hazardous 
lives.  Still,  I  had  not  quite  forgotten  the  lessons  of  child 
hood,  and  sometimes  I  practised  on  them.  That  night  I 
prayed  fervently,  beseeching  God  to  spare  my  sister,  if  in 
his  wisdom  it  were  meet ;  and  I  humbly  invoked  his  bless 
ings  on  the  excellent  divine,  and  on  Lucy,  by  name.  I  am 
not  ashamed  to  own  it,  let  who  may  deride  the  act. 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  465 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

"  Wherever  sorrow  is,  relief  would  be ; 
If  you  do  sorrow  at  my  grief  in  love, 
By  giving  love,  your  sorrow  and  my  grief 
Were  both  extermin'd." 

As  You  Like  It. 

I  SAW  but  little  of  Grace,  during  the  early  part  of  tho 
succeeding  day.  She  had  uniformly  breakfasted  in  her  own 
room,  of  late,  and,  in  the  short  visit  I  paid  her  there,  I  found 
her  composed,  with  an  appearance  of  renewed  strength  that 
encouraged  me  greatly,  as  to  the  future.  Mr.  Hardinge 
insisted  on  rendering  an  account  of  his  stewardship,  that 
morning,  and  I  let  the  good  divine  have  his  own  way ; 
though,  had  he  asked  me  for  a  receipt  in  full,  I  would  cheer 
fully  have  given  it  to  him,  without  examining  a  single  item. 
There  was  a  singular  peculiarity  about  Mr.  Hardinge.  No 
one  could  live  less  for  the  world  generally ;  no  one  was  less 
qualified  to  superintend  extensive  worldly  interests,  that 
required  care,  or  thought ;  and  no  one  would  have  been  a 
more  unsafe  executor  in  matters  that  were  intricate  or  in 
volved  :  still,  in  the  mere  business  of  accounts,  he  was  as 
methodical  and  exact,  as  the  most  faithful  banker.  Rigidly 
honest,  and  with  a  strict  regard  for  the  rights  of  others, 
living  moreover  on  a  mere  pittance,  for  the  greater  part  of 
his  life,  this  conscientious  divine  never  contracted  a  debt 
he  could  not  pay.  What  rendered  this  caution  more  worthy 
of  remark,  was  the  fact  that  he  had  a  spendthrift  son ;  but, 
even  Rupert  could  never  lure  him  into  any  weakness  of  this 
sort.  I  question  if  his  actual  cash  receipts,  independently 
of  the  profits  of  his  little  glebe,  exceeded  $300  in  any  one 
year ;  yet,  he  and  his  children  were  ever  well-dressed,  and 
I  knew  from  observation  that  his  table  was  always  suffi 
ciently  supplied.  He  got  a  few  presents  occasionally,  from 
his  parishioners,  it  is  true ;  but  they  did  not  amount  to  any 
sum  of  moment.  It  was  method,  and  a  determination  not 
to  anticipate  his  income,  that  placed  him  so  much  above  tne 


466  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

world,  while  he  had  a  family  to  support ;  whereas,  now  that 
Mrs.  Bradfort's  fortune  was  in  the  possession  of  his  children, 
he  assured  me  he  felt  himself  quite  rich,  though  he  scrupu 
lously  refused  to  appropriate  one  dollar  of  the  handsome 
income  that  passed  through  his  hands  as  executor,  to  his 
own  uses.  It  was  all  Lucy's,  who  was  entitled  to  receive 
this  income  even  in  her  minority,  and  to  her  he  paid  every 
cent,  quarterly;  the  sister  providing  for  Rupert's  ample 
wants. 

Of  course,  I  found  everything  exact  to  a  farthing;  tho 
necessary  papers  were  signed,  the  power  of  attorney  was 
cancelled,  and  I  entered  fully  into  the  possession  of  my  own. 
An  unexpected  rise  in  the  value  of  flour  had  raised  my 
shore  receipts  that  year  to  the  handsome  sum  of  nine  thou 
sand  dollars.  This  was  not  properly  income,  however,  but 
profits,  principally  obtained  through  the  labour  of  the  mill. 
By  putting  all  my  loose  cash  together,  I  found  I  could  com 
mand  fully  $30,000,  in  addition  to  the  price  of  the  ship. 
This  sum  was  making  me  a  man  quite  at  my  ease,  and,  pro 
perly  managed,  it  opened  a  way  to  wealth.  How  gladly 
would  I  have  given  every  cent  of  it,  to  see  Grace  as  healthy 
and  happy  as  she  was  when  I  left  her  at  Mrs.  Bradfort's,  to 
sail  in  the  Crisis ! 

After  settling  the  figures,  Mr.  Hardinge  and  I  mounted 
our  horses,  and  rode  over  the  property  to  take  a  look  at  the 
state  of  the  farm.  Our  road  took  us  near  the  little  rectory 
and  the  glebe ;  and,  here,  the  simple-minded  divine  broke 
out  into  ecstasies  on  the  subject  of  the  beauties  of  his  own 
residence,  and  the  delight  with  which  he  should  now  return 
to  his  ancient  abode.  He  loved  Clawbonny  no  less  than 
formerly,  but  he  loved  the  rectory  more. 

"I  was  born  in  that  humble,  snug,  quiet  old  stone  cot 
tage,  Miles,"  he  said,  "  and  there  I  lived  for  years  a  happy 
husband  and  father,  and  I  hope  I  may  say  a  faithful  shep 
herd  of  my  little  flock.  St.  Michael's,  Clawbonny,  is  not 
Trinity,  New  York,  but  it  may  prove,  on  a  small  scale  as 
to  numbers,  as  fitting  a  nursery  of  saints.  What  humble 
and  devout  Christians  have  I  known  to  kneel  at  its  little 
altar,  Miles,  among  whom  your  mother,  and  your  venerable 
old  grandmother,  were  two  of  the  best.  I  hope  the  day  is 
not  distant  when  I  shall  meet  there  another  Mrs.  Miles 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  467 

Wallingford.  Marry  young,  my  boy;  early  marriages 
prove  happier  than  late,  where  there  are  the  means  of  sub 
sistence." 

"You  would  not  have  me  marry,  until  I  can  find  a 
woman  whom  I  shall  truly  love,  dear  sir'!" 

"  Heaven  forbid  !  I  would  rather  see  you  a  bachelor  to 
my  dying  day.  But  America  has  enough  females  that  a 
youth,  like  you,  could,  and  indeed  ought  to  love.  I  could 
direct  you  to  fifty,  myself." 

"  Well,  sir,  your  recommendations  would  have  great 
weight  with  me.  I  wish  you  would  begin." 

"  That  I  will,  that  I  will,  if  you  wish  it,  my  dear  boy. 
Well,  there  is  a  Miss  Hervey,  Miss  Kate  Hervey,  in  town ; 
a  girl  of  excellent  qualities,  and  who  would  just  suit  you, 
could  you  agree." 

"  I  recollect  the  young  lady ;  the  greatest  objection  I 
should  raise  to  her,  is  a  want  of  personal  attractions.  Of 
all  Mrs.  Bradfort's  acquaintances,  I  think  she  was  among 
the  very  plainest." 

"  What  is  beauty,  Miles?  In  marriage,  very  different  re 
commendations  are  to  be  looked  for  by  the  husband." 

"  Yet,  I  have  understood  you  practised  on  another  theory ; 
Mrs.  Hardinge,  even  as  I  recollect  her,  was  very  hand 
some." 

"  Yes,  that  is  true,"  answered  the  good  divine,  simply ; 
"  she  was  so ;  but  beauty  is  not  to  be  considered  as  an  objec 
tion.  If  you  do  not  relish  the  idea  of  Kate  Hervey,  what 
do  you  say  to  Jane  Harwood  —  there  is  a  prettty  girl  for 
you." 

"  A  pretty  girl,  sir,  but  not  for  me.  But,  in  naming  so 
many  young  ladies,  why  do  you  overlook  your  own  daugh 
ter?" 

I  said  this  with  a  sort  of  desperate  resolution,  tempted  by 
the  opportunity,  and  the  direction  the  discourse  had  taken. 
When  it  was  uttered,  I  repented  of  my  temerity,  and  almost 
trembled  to  hear  the  answer. 

"  Lucy  !"  exclaimed  Mr.  Hardinge,  turning  suddenly  to 
wards  me,  and  looking  so  intently  and  earnestly  in  my  face, 
that  I  saw  the  possibility  of  such  a  thing  then  struck  him, 
for  the  first  time.  '*  Sure  enough,  why  should  you  not 
marry  Lucy  ?  There  is  not  a  particle  of  relationship  bo- 


468  AFLOAT      AND     ASHORE, 

iween  you,  after  all,  though  I  have  so  long  considered  you 
as  brother  and  sister.  I  wish  we  had  thought  of  this  earlier, 
Miles ;  it  would  be  a  most  capital  connection  —  though  I 
should  insist  on  your  quitting  the  sea.  Lucy  has  too  affec 
tionate  a  heart,  to  be  always  in  distress  for  an  absent  hus 
band.  I  wonder  the  possibility  of  this  thing  did  not  strike 
me,  before  it  was  too  late ;  in  a  man  so  much  accustomed  to 
see  what  is  going  on  around  me,  to  overlook  this  !" 

The  words  "  too  late,"  sounded  to  me  like  the  doom  of 
fate ;  and  had  my  simple-minded  companion  but  the  tithe 
of  the  observation  which  he  so  much  vaunted,  he  must  have 
seen  rny  agitation.  I  had  advanced  so  far,  however,  that  I 
determined  to  learn  the  worst,  whatever  pain  it  might  cost 
me. 

"  I  suppose,  sir  the  very  circumstance  that  we  were 
brought  up  cogether  has  prevented  us  all  from  regarding  the 
thing  as  possible.  But,  why  « too  late,'  my  excellent  guar 
dian,  if  we  who  are  ihe  most  interested  in  the  thing  should 
happen  to  think  otherwise?" 

"  Certainly  not  too  late,  if  you  include  Lucy,  herself,  in 
your  conditions ;  but  I  am  afraid,  Miles,  it  is  '  too  late'  for 
Lury." 

"  Am  I  to  understand,  then,  that  Miss  Hardinge  is  en 
gaged  to  Mr.  Drewett?  Are  her  affections  enlisted  in  his 
behalf?" 

"  You  may  be  certain  of  one  thing,  boy,  and  that  is,  if 
Lucy  be  engaged,  her  affections  are  enlisted  —  so  conscien 
tious  a  young  woman  would  never  marry  without  giving 
her  heart  with  her  hand.  As  for  the  fact,  however,  I  know 
nothing,  except  by  inference.  I  do  suppose  a  mutual  attach 
ment  to  exist  between  her  and  Andrew  Drewett." 

"  Of  course  with  good  reason,  sir.  Lucy  is  not  a  coquette, 
or  a  fo*irl  to  encourage  when  she  does  not  mean  to  accept  " 

"  That 's  all  I  know  of  the  matter.  Drewett  continues  to 
visit ;  is  as  attentive  as  a  young  man  well  can  be,  where  a 
young  woman  is  as  scrupulous  as  is  Lucy  about  the  proper 
forms,  and  I  infer  they  understand  each  other.  I  have 
thought  of  speaking  to  Lucy  on  the  subject,  but  I  do  not 
wish  to  influence  her  judgment,  in  a  case  where  there  exists 
no  objection.  Drewett  is  every  way  a  suitable  match,  and 
I  wish  things  to  take  their  own  course.  There  is  one  little 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  469 

circumstance,  however,  that  I  can  mention  to  you  as  a  sort 
of  son,  Miles,  and  which  I  consider  conclusive  as  to  the 
girl's  inclinations  —  I  have  remarked  that  she  refuses  all 
expedients  to  get  her  to  be  alone  with  Drewett  —  refuses  to 
make  excursions  in  which  she  must  be  driven  in  his  curricle, 
or  to  go  anywhere  with  him,  even  to  the  next  door.  So 
particular  is  she,  that  she  contrives  never  to  be  alone  with 
him,  even  in  his  many  visits  to  the  house." 

"  And  do  you  consider  that  as  a  proof  of  attachment  1 
— of  her  being  engaged  1  Does  your  own  experience,  sir, 
confirm  such  a  notion  ?" 

"  What  else  can  it  be,  if  it  be  not  a  consciousness  of  a 
passion  —  of  an  attachment  that  she  is  afraid  every  one  will 
see  ?  You  do  not  understand  the  sex,  I  perceive,  Miles,  or 
the  finesse  of  their  natures  would  be  more  apparent  to  you. 
As  for  my  experience,  no  conclusion  can  be  drawn  from 
that,  as  I  and  my  dear  wife  were  thrown  together  very 
young,  all  alone,  in  her  mother's  country  house ;  and  the 
old  lady  being  bed-ridden,  there  was  no  opportunity  for  the 
bashful  maiden  to  betray  this  consciousness.  But,  if  I  un 
derstand  human  nature,  such  is  the  secret  of  Lucy's  feelings 
towards  Andrew  Drewett.  It  is  of  no  great  moment  to  you, 
Miles,  notwithstanding,  as  there  are  plenty  more  young  wo 
men  to  be  had  in  the  world." 

"  True,  sir ;  but  there  is  only  one  Lucy  Hardinge !"  I 
rejoined  with  a  fervour  and  strength  of  utterance  that  be 
trayed  more  than  I  intended. 

My  late  guardian  actually  stopped  his  horse  this  time,  to 
look  at  me,  and  I  could  perceive  deep  concern  gathering 
around  his  usually  serene  and  placid  brow.  He  began  to 
penetrate  my  feelings,  and  I  believe  they  caused  him  real 
grief. 

"  I  never  could  have  dreamed  of  this !"  Mr.  Hardinge  at 
length  exclaimed :  "  Do  you  really  love  Lucy,  my  dear 
Miles  ?" 

"  Better  than  I  do  my  own  life,  sir — I  almost  worship  the 
earth  she  treads  on  —  Love  her  with  my  whole  heart,  and 
have  loved,  I  believe,  if  the  truth  were  known,  ever  since  I 
was  sixteen — perhaps  I  had  better  say,  twelve  years  old  !" 

The  truth  escaped  me,  as  the  torrent  of  the  Mississippi 
40 


470  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

breaks  through  the  levee,  and  a  passage  once  open  for  its 
exit,  it  cleared  a  way  for  itself,  until  the  current  of  my  feel 
ings  left  no  doubt  of  its  direction.  I  believe  I  was  a  little 
ashamed  of  my  own  weakness,  for  I  caused  my  horse  to 
walk  forward,  Mr.  Hardinge  accompanying  the  movement, 
for  a  considerable  distance,  in  a  profound,  and,  I  doubt  not, 
a  painful  silence. 

"  This  has  taken  me  altogether  by  surprise,  Miles,"  my 
late  guardian  resumed ;  "  altogether  by  surprise.  What 
would  I  not  give  could  this  have  been  known  a  year  or  two 
since  !  My  dear  boy,  I  feel  for  you,  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart,  for  I  can  understand  what  it  must  be  to  love  a  girl 
like  Lucy,  without  hope.  Why  did  you  not  let  this  be 
known  sooner  —  or,  why  did  you  insist  on  going  to  sea, 
having  so  strong  a  motive  for  remaining  at  home  ?" 

"  I  was  too  young,  at  that  time,  sir,  to  act  on,  or  even  to 
understand  my  own  feelings.  On  my  return,  in  the  Crisis, 
I  found  Lucy  in  a  set  superior  to  that  in  which  I  was  born 
and  educated,  and  it  would  have  been  a  poor  proof  of  my 
attachment  to  wish  to  bring  her  down  nearer  to  my  own 
level." 

"  I  understand  you,  Miles,  and  can  appreciate  the  gene 
rosity  of  your  conduct;  though  I  am  afiaid  it  would  have 
been  too  late  on  your  return  in  the  Crisis.  That  was  only 
a  twelvemonth  since,  and,  then,  I  rather  think,  Andrew 
Drewett  had  offered.  There  is  good  sense  in  your  feeling 
on  the  subject  of  marriages  in  unequal  conditions  in  life,  for 
they  certainly  lead  to  many  heart-burnings,  and  greatly 
lessen  the  chances  of  happiness.  One  thing  is  certain  ;  in 
all  such  cases,  if  the  inferior  cannot  rise  to  the  height  of  the 
superior,  the  superior  must  sink  to  the  level  of  the  inferior. 
Man  and  wife  cannot  continue  to  occupy  different  social 
positions ;  and,  as  for  the  nonsense  that  is  uttered  on  such 
subjects,  by  visionaries,  under  the  claim  of  its  being  com 
mon  sense,  it  is  only  fit  for  pretending  theories,  and  can 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  great  rules  of  practice.  You 
were  right  in  principle,  then,  Miles,  though  you  have  greatly 
exaggerated  the  facts  of  your  own  particular  case." 

"  I  have  always  known,  sir,  and  have  ever  been  ready  to 
admit,  that  the  Hardinges  have  belonged  to  a  different  class 
of  society,  from  that  filled  by  the  Wallingfords." 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  471 

"  This  is  true,  but  in  part  only  ;  and  by  no  means  true  to 
degree  that  need  have  drawn  any  impassable  line  between 
you  and  Lucy.  You  forget  how  poor  we  then  were,  and 
how  substantial  a  benefit  the  care  of  Clawbonny  might  have 
been  to  my  dear  girl.  Besides,  you  are  of  reputable  de 
scent  and  position,  if  not  precisely  of  the  gentry  ;  and  this  is 
not  a  country,  or  an  age,  to  carry  notions  of  such  a  nature 
beyond  the  strict  bounds  of  reason.  You  and  Lucy  were 
educated  on  the  same  level ;  and,  after  all,  that  is  the  great 
essential  for  the  marriage  connection." 

There  was  great  good  sense  in  what  Mr.  Hardinge  said ; 
and  I  began  to  see  that  pride,  and  not  humility,  might  have 
interfered  with  my  happiness.  As  I  firmly  believed  it  was 
now  too  late,  however,  I  began  to  wish  the  subject  changed ; 
for  I  felt  it  grating  on  some  of  my  most  sacred  feelings. 
With  a  view  to  divert  the  conversation  to  another  channel, 
therefore,  I  remarked  with  some  emphasis,  affectiLg  an 
indifference  I  did  not  feel — 

"  What  cannot  be  cured,  must  be  endured,  sir ;  and  I 
shall  endeavour  to  find  a  sailor's  happiness  hereafter,  in 
loving  my  ship.  Besides,  were  Andrew  Drewett  entirely 
out  of  the  question,  it  is  now  *  too  late,'  in  another  sense, 
since  it  would  never  do  for  the  man  who,  himself  at  his  ease 
in  the  way  of  money,  hesitated  about  offering  when  his  mis 
tress  was  poor,  to  prove  his  love,  by  proposing  to  Mrs. 
Bradfort's  heiress.  Still,  I  own  to  so  much  weakness  as  to 
wish  to  know,  before  we  close  the  subject  for  ever,  why  Mr. 
Drewett  and  your  daughter  do  not  marry,  if  they  are  en 
gaged  1  Perhaps  it  is  owing  only  to  Lucy's  mourning  ?" 

"  I  have  myself  imputed  it  to  another  cause.  Rupert  is 
entirely  dependent  on  his  sister,  and  I  know  Lucy  so  well 
as  to  feel  certain  —  some  extraordinary  cause  not  inter 
posing — that  she  wishes  to  bestow  half  her  cousin's  fortune 
on  her  brother.  This  cannot  be  done  until  she  is  of  age, 
and  she  wants  near  two  years  of  attaining  her  majority." 

I  made  no  answer  ;  for  I  felt  how  likely  this  was  to  be 
true.  Lucy  was  not  a  girl  of  professions,  and  she  would  ba 
very  apt  to  keep  a  resolution  of  this  nature,  a  secret  in  her 
own  breast,  until  ready  to  carry  it  into  execution.  No  more 
passed  between  Mr.  Hardinge  and  myself,  on  the  subject  of 
our  recent  conversation  ;  though  I  could  see  my  avowal  had 


472  AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE. 

made  him  sad,  and  that  it  induced  him  to  treat  me  with 
more  affection,  even,  than  had  been  his  practice.  Once  or 
twice,  in  the  course  of  the  next  day  or  two,  I  overheard  him 
soliloquizing — a  habit  to  which  he  was  a  good  deal  addicted 
—  during  which  he  would  murmur,  "What  a  pity!" — 
"  How  much  to  be  regretted !" — "  I  would  rather  have  him 
for  a  son  than  any  man  on  earth !"  and  other  similar  ex 
pressions.  Of  course,  these  involuntary  disclosures  did  not 
weaken  my  regard  for  my  late  guardian. 

About  noon,  the  Grace  &  Lucy  came  in,  and  Neb  re 
ported  that  Dr.  Bard  was  not  at  home.  He  had  left  my 
letter,  however,  and  it  would  be  delivered  as  soon  as  possi 
ble.  He  told  me  also  that  the  wind  had  been  favourable  on 
the  river,  and  that  the  Wallingford  must  reach  town  that 
day. 

Nothing  further  occurred,  worthy  of  notice.  I  passed  the 
afteinoon  with  Grace,  in  the  little  room;  and  we  conversed 
much  of  the  past,  of  our  parents  in  particular,  without  ad 
verting,  however,  to  her  situation,  any  further  than  to  apprise 
her  of  what  I  had  done.  I  thought  she  was  not  sorry  to 
learn  I  had  sent  for  Lucy,  now  that  I  was  with  her,  and  it 
was  no  longer  possible  her  illness  could  be  concealed.  As 
for  the  physicians,  when  they  were  mentioned,  I  could  see 
a  look  of  tender  concern  in  Grace's  eyes,  as  if  she  regretted 
that  I  still  clung  to  the  delusion  of  hoping  to  see  her  health 
restored.  Notwithstanding  these  little  drawbacks,  we  passed 
a  sweet  eventide  together.  For  more  than  an  hour,  Grace 
lay  on  my  bosom,  occasionally  patting  her  hand  on  my 
cheeks,  as  the  child  caresses  its  mother.  This  was  an  old 
habit  of  hers,  and  it  was  one  I  was  equally  delighted  and 
pained  to  have  her  resume,  now  we  were  of  the  age  and 
stature  of  man  and  woman. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  Grace  insisted  on  my 
driving  her  to  church.  This  was  done,  accordingly,  in  a 
very  old-fashioned,  but  very  easy  Boston  chaise,  that  had 
belonged  to  my  mother,  and  with  very  careful  driving. 
The  congregation,  like  the  church-edifice  of  St.  Michael's, 
was  very  small,  being  confined,  with  some  twenty  or  thirty 
exceptions,  to  the  family  and  dependants  of  Clawbonny. 
Mr.  Hardinge's  little  flock  was  hedged  in  by  other  denomi 
nations  on  every  side,  and  it  was  not  an  easy  matter  tc 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  473 

oreak  through  the  barriers  that  surrounded  it.  Then  he 
was  not  possessed  with  the  spirit  of  proselytism,  contenting 
himself  with  aiding  in  the  spiritual  advancement  of  those 
whom  Providence  had  consigned  to  his  care.  On  the  pre 
sent  occasion,  however,  the  little  building  was  full,  and  that 
was  as  much  as  could  have  happened  had  it  been  as  large 
as  St.  Peter's  itself.  The  prayers  were  devoutly  and  fer 
vently  read,  and  the  sermon  was  plain  and  filled  with 
piety. 

My  sister  professed  herself  in  no  manner  wearied  with 
the  exertion.  We  dined  with  Mr.  Hardinge,  at  the  Rectory, 
which  was  quite  near  the  church;  and  the  irreverent,  busi 
ness-like,  make-weight  sort  of  look,  of  going  in  to  one  ser 
vice  almost  as  soon  as  the  other  was  ended,  as  if  to  score 
off  so  much  preaching  and  praying  as  available  at  the  least 
trouble,  being  avoided,  by  having  the  evening  service  com 
mence  late,  she  was  enabled  to  remain  until  the  close  of  the 
day.  Mr.  Hardinge  rarely  preached  but  once  of  a  Sunday. 
He  considered  the  worship  of  God,  and  the  offices  of  the 
church,  as  the  proper  duties  of  the  day,  and  regarded  his 
own  wisdom  as  a  matter  of  secondary  importance.  But 
one  sermon  cost  him  as  much  labour,  and  study,  and 
anxiety,  as  most  clergymen's  two.  His  preaching,  also,  had 
the  high  qualification  of  being  addressed  to  the  affections  of 
his  flock,  and  not  to  its  fears  and  interests.  He  constantly 
reminded  us  of  God's  love,  and  of  the  beauty  of  holiness ; 
while  I  do  not  remember  to  have  heard  him  allude  half  a 
dozen  times  in  his  life  to  the  terrors  of  judgment  and  pun 
ishment,  except  as  they  were  connected  with  that  disap 
pointed  love.  I  suppose  there  are  spirits  that  require  these 
allusions,  and  the  temptations  of  future  happiness,  to  incite 
their  feelings ;  but  I  like  the  preacher  who  is  a  Christian 
because  he  feels  himself  drawn  to  holiness,  by  a  power  that 
is  of  itself  holy ;  and  not  those  who  appeal  to  their  people, 
as  if  heaven  and  hell  were  a  mere  matter  of  preference  and 
avoidance,  on  the  ground  of  expediency.  I  cannot  better 
characterize  Mr.  Hardinge's  preaching,  than  by  saying, 
that  I  do  not  remember  ever  to  have  left  his  church  with  a 
sense  of  fear  towards  the  Creator  ;  though  I  have  often  been 
impressed  with  a  love  that  was  as  profound  as  the  adoration 
that  had  been  awakened. 
40* 


474  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

Another  calm  and  comparatively  happy  evening  was 
passed,  during  which  I  conversed  freely  with  Grace  of  my 
own  intentions,  endeavouring  to  revive  in  her  an  interest  in 
life,  by  renewing  old  impressions,  and  making  her  partici 
pate  in  my  feelings.  Had  I  been  with  her  from  the  hour 
spring  opened,  with  its  renewal  of  vegetation,  and  all  the 
joys  it  confers  on  the  innocent  and  happy,  I  have  often 
thought  since,  I  might  have  succeeded.  As  it  was,  she  list 
ened  with  attention,  and  apparently  with  pleasure,  for  she 
saw  it  served  to  relieve  my  mind.  We  did  not  separate 
until  I  insisted  Grace  should  retire,  and  Chloe  had  made 
more  than  one  remonstrance  about  her  young  mistress's 
exceeding  the  usual  time.  On  leaving  my  sister's  cham 
ber,  the  negress  followed  me  with  a  light,  lest  I  should 
fall,  among  the  intricate  turnings,  and  the  ups  and  downs  of 
the  old  building. 

"  Well,  Chloe,"  I  said,  as  we  proceeded  together,  "  how 
do  you  find  Neb  ?  Does  he  improve  by  this  running  about 
on  the  ocean — especially  do  you  think  he  is  tanned  ?" 

"  De/eZ-ler !" 

"  Yes,  he  is  a  fellow,  sure  enough,  and  let  me  tell  you, 
Chloe,  a  very  capital  fellow,  too.  If  it  can  be  of  any  ad 
vantage  to  him  in  your  favour  to  know  the  truth,  I  will  just 
say  a  more  useful  seaman  does  not  sail  the  ocean  than  Neb, 
and  that  I  consider  him  as  of  much  importance  as  the  main 
mast?" 

"  What  be  dat,  Masser  Mile?" 

"  I  see  nothing,  Chloe — there  are  no  spooks  at  Clawbon- 
ny,  you  know." 
'"  No,  sah  !  What  b'e  t'ing  Neb  like,  de/eMer?" 

"Oh !  I  ask  your  pardon — the  main-mast,  you  mean.  It 
is  the  most  important  spar  in  the  ship,  and  I  meant  that 
Neb  was  as  useful  as  that  mast.  In  battle,  too,  Neb  is  as 
brave  as  a  lion." 

Here  Chloe  could  stand  it  no  longer ;  she  fairly  laughed 
outright,  in  pure,  natural  admiration  of  her  suitor's  quali 
ties.  When  this  was  performed,  she  ejaculated  once  more 
"De  feller!" —  dropped  a  curtesy,  said  "Good  night, 
Masser  Mile,"  and  left  me  at  my  own  door.  Alas  !  alas!— 
Among  the  improvements  of  this  age,  we  have  entirely  lost 
the  breed  of  the  careless,  good-natured,  affectionate,  faithful, 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  475 

hard-working,  and  yet  happy  blacks,  of  whom  more  or  less 
were  to  be  found  in  every  respectable  and  long-established 
family  of  the  State,  forty  years  ago. 

The  next  day  was  one  of  great  anxiety  to  me.  I  rose 
early,  and  the  first  thing  was  to  ascertain  the  direction  of 
the  wind.  In  midsummer  this  was  apt  to  be  southerly,  and 
so  it  proved  on  that  occasion.  Neb  was  sent  to  the  point, 
as  a  look-out ;  he  returned  about  ten,  and  reported  a  fleet  of 
sloops,  in  sight.  These  vessels  were  still  a  long  distance 
down  the  river,  but  they  were  advancing  at  a  tolerable  rate. 
Whether  the  Wallingford  were  among  them,  or  not,  was 
more  than  could  yet  be  told.  I  sent  him  back  to  his  sta 
tion,  as  soon  as  he  had  eaten ;  and  unable  to  remain  quiet 
in  the  house,  myself,  I  mounted  my  horse,  and  rode  out  into 
the  fields.  Here,  as  usual,  I  experienced  the  happiness  of 
looking  at  objects  my  ancestors  loved  to  regard,  and  which 
always  have  had  a  strong  and  near  interest  with  me. 

Perhaps  no  country  that  ever  yet  existed  has  been  so  lit 
tle  understood,  or  so  much  misrepresented,  as  this  America 
of  ours.  It  is  as  little  understood,  I  was  on  the  point  of 
saying,  at  home  as  it  is  abroad,  and  almost  as  much  mis 
represented.  Certainly  its  possessors  are  a  good  deal  ad 
dicted  to  valuing  themselves  on  distinctive  advantages  that, 
in  reality,  they  do  not  enjoy,  while  their  enemies  declaim 
about  vices  and  evils  from  which  they  are  comparatively 
free.  Facts  are  made  to  suit  theories,  and  thus  it  is  that 
we  see  well-intentioned,  and  otherwise  respectable  writers, 
constantly  running  into  extravagances,  in  order  to  adapt  the 
circumstances  to  the  supposed  logical  or  moral  inference. 
This  reasoning  backwards,  has  caused  Alison,  with  all  his 
knowledge  and  fair-mindedness,  to  fall  into  several  egregious 
errors,  as  I  have  discovered  while  recently  reading  his 
great  work  on  Europe.  He  says  we  are  a  migratory  race, 
and  that  we  do  not  love  the  sticks  and  stones  that  surrouna 
us,  but  quit  the  paternal  roof  without  regret,  and  consider 
the  play-grounds  of  infancy  as  only  so  much  land  for  the 
market.  He  also  hazards  the  assertion,  that  there  is  not 
such  a  thing  as  a  literal  farmer, — that  is  a  tenant,  who 
farms  his  land  from  a  landlord — in  all  America.  Now,  as 
a  rule,  and  comparing  the  habits  of  America  with  ihose  of 
older  countries,  in  which  land  is  not  so  abundant,  this  may 


476  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

be  true ;  but  as  literal  fact,  nothing  can  be  less  so,  Four- 
fifths  of  the  inhabited  portion  of  the  American  territory,  has 
a  civilized  existence  of  half  a  century's  duration ;  and  there 
has  not  been  time  to  create  the  long-lived  attachments 
named,  more  especially  in  the  regions  that  are  undergoing 
the  moral  fusion  that  is  always  an  attendant  of  a  new  set 
tlement.  That  thousands  of  heartless  speculators  exist 
among  us,  who  do  regard  everything,  even  to  the  graves  of 
their  fathers,  as  only  so  much  improvable  property,  is  as 
undeniable  as  the  fact  that  they  are  odious  to  all  men  of 
any  moral  feeling;  but  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  are 
to  be  found  in  the  country,  who  do  reverence  their  family 
possessions  from  a  sentiment  that  is  creditable  to  human 
nature.  I  will  not  mention  Clawbonny,  and  its  history,  lest 
I  might  be  suspected  of  being  partial ;  but  it  would  be  easy 
for  me  to  point  out  a  hundred  families,  embracing  all  classes, 
from  the  great  proprietor  to  the  plain  yeoman,  who  own  and 
reside  on  the  estates  of  those  who  first  received  them  from 
the  hand  of  nature,  and  this  after  one  or  two  centuries  of 
possession.  What  will  Mr.  Alison  say,  for  instance,  of 
the  Manor  of  Rensselear  1  A  manor,  in  the  legal  sense, 
it  is  no  longer,  certainly,  the  new  institutions  destroy 
ing  all  the  feudal  tenures ;  but,  as  mere  property,  the  late 
Patroon  transmitted  it  as  regularly  to  his  posterity,  as  any 
estate  was  ever  transmitted  in  Europe.  This  extensive 
manor  lies  in  the  heart  of  New  York,  a  state  about  as  large 
and  about  as  populous  as  Scotland,  and  it  embraces  no  less 
than  three  cities  in  its  bosom,  though  their  sites  are  not 
included  in  its  ownership,  having  been  exempted  by  earlier 
grants.  It  is  of  more  than  two  centuries'  existence,  and  it 
extends  eight-and-forty  miles  east  and  west,  and  half  that 
distance,  north  and  south.  Nearly  all  this  vast  property  is 
held,  at  this  hour,  of  the  Van  Rensselears,  as  landlords,  and 
is  farmed  by  their  tenants,  there  being  several  thousands  of 
the  latter.  The  same  is  true,  on  a  smaller  scale,  of  the  Liv 
ingston,  the  Van  Cortlandt,  the  Philipse,  the  Nicoll,  and 
various  other  old  New  York  estates,  though  several  were 
lost  by  attainder  in  the  revolution.  I  explain  these  things, 
lest  any  European  who  may  happen  to  read  this  book, 
should  regard  it  as  fiction ;  for,  allowing  for  trifling  differ- 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  477 

ences,  a  hundred  Clawbonnys  are  to  be  found  on  the  two 
banks  of  the  Hudson,  at  this  very  hour.* 

But,  to  return  to  the  narrative. 

My  curiosity  increased  so  much,  as  the  day  advanced, 
that  I  rode  towards  the  point  to  look  for  the  sloop.  There 
she  was,  sure  enough ;  and  there  was  Neb,  too,  gal 
loping  a  young  horse,  bare-back,  to  the  house,  with  the 
news.  I  met  him  with  an  order  to  proceed  to  the  wharf 
with  the  chaise,  while  I  dashed  on,  in  the  same  direction 
myself,  almost  devoured  with  an  impatience  to  learn  the 
success  of  my  different  missions  as  I  galloped  along.  I 
could  see  the  upper  part  of  the  Wallingford's  sails,  gliding 
through  the  leaves  that  fringed  the  bank,  and  it  was  appa 
rent  that  she  and  I  would  reach  the  wharf  almost  at  the 
same  instant  Notwithstanding  all  my  anxiety,  it  was  im 
possible  to  ge.  a  glimpse  of  the  vessel's  deck. 

I  did  not  quit  the  saddle  until  the  planks  of  the  wharf 
were  under  the  horse's  hoofs.  Then  I  got  -a  view  of  the 
sloop's  decks,  for  the  first  time.  A  respectable-looking,  tall, 
slender,  middle-aged  man,  with  a  bright  dark  eye,  was  on 
the  quarter-deck,  and  I  bowed  to  him,  inferring  at  once  that 
he  was  one  of  the  medical  gentlemen  to  whom  I  had  sent 
the  message.  In  effect,  it  was  Post,  the  second  named  on 
my  list,  the  first  not  being  able  to  come.  He  returned  my 
bow,  but,  before  I  could  alight  and  go  on  board  to  receive 
him,  Marble's  head  rose  from  the  cabin,  and  my  mate 
sprang  ashore,  and  shook  me  cordially  by  the  hand. 

"  Here  I  am,  Miles,  my  boy,"  cried  Marble,  whom,  off 

*  Even  the  American  may  learn  the  following  facts  with  some 
surprise.  It  is  now  about  five-and-twenty  years  since  the  writer,  as 
tenant  by  the  courtesy,  came  into  possession  of  two  farms,  lying 
within  twenty-three  miles  of  New  York,  in  each  of  which  there  had 
been  three  generations  of  tenants,  and  as  many  of  landlords,  without 
a  scrap  of  a  pen  having  passed  between  the  parties,  so  far  as  the  writer 
could  ever  discover,  receipts  for  rent  excepted !  He  also  stands  in 
nearly  the  same  relation  to  another  farm,  in  the  same  county,  on 
which  a  lease  for  ninety  years  is  at  this  moment  running,  one  of  the 
covenants  of  which  prescribes  that  the  tenant  shall  "frequent  divine 
service  according  to  the  Church  of  England,  when  opportunity  offers." 
What  an  evidence  of  the  nature  of  the  tyranny  from  which  our  an- 
cestors  escaped,  more  especially  when  it  is  seen  that  the  tenant  was 
obliged  to  submit  to  this  severe  exaction,  in  consideration  of  a  rent 
that  »s  merely  nominal ! 


478  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

duty,  I  had  earnestly  begged  to  treat  me  with  his  old  free 
dom,  and  who  took  me  at  my  word  —  "  Here  I  am,  Miles, 
iny  boy,  and  farther  from  salt-water  than  I  have  been  in 
five-and-twcnty  years.  So  this  is  the  famous  Clawbonny  ! 
I  cannot  say  much  for  the  port,  which  is  somewhat  crowded 
while  it  contains  but  one  craft ;  though  the  river  outside  is 
pretty  well,  as  rivers  go.  D'ye  know,  lad,  that  I  've  been 
in  a  fever,  all  the  way  up,  lest  we  should  get  ashore,  on  one 
side  or  the  other  ?  your  having  land  on  both  tacks  at  once 
is  too  much  of  a  good  thing.  This  coming  up  to  Claw- 
bonny  has  put  me  in  mind  of  running  them  straits,  though 
we  have  had  rather  better  weather  this  passage,  and  a 
clearer  horizon.  What  d'ye  call  that  affair  up  against  the 
hill-side,  yonder,  with  the  jig-a-merree,  that  is  turning  in 
the  water  ?" 

"  That 's  a  mill,  my  friend ,  and  the  jig-a-merree  is  the 
very  wheel  on  which  you  have  heard  me  say  my  father  was 
crushed." 

Marble  looked  sorrowfully  at  the  wheel,  squeezed  my 
hand,  as  if  to  express  sorrow  for  having  reminded  me  of  so 
painful  an  event,  and  then  I  heard  him  murmuring  to  him 
self — "  Well,  /  never  had  a  father  to  lose.  No  bloody  mill 
could  do  me  that  injury." 

"  That  gentleman  on  the  quarter-deck,"  I  remarked,  "  is 
a  physician  for  whom  I  sent  to  town,  I  suppose." 

"  Ay,  ay — he  's  some  such  matter,  I  do  suppose ;  though 
I  've  been  generalizing  so  much  about  this  here  river,  and 
the  manner  of  sailing  a  craft  of  that  rig,  I  've  had  little  to 
say  to  him.  I  'm  always  a  better  friend  to  the  cook  than  to 
the  surgeon.  But,  Miles,  my  lad,  there's  a  rare  'un,  in  the 
ship's  after-cabin,  I  can  tell  you  !" 

"  That  must  be  Lucy  !"  —  and  I  did  not  stop  to  pay  my 
compliments  to  the  strange  gentleman,  but  almost  leaped 
into  the  vessel's  cabin. 

There  was  Lucy,  sure  enough,  attended  by  a  respectable- 
looking  elderly  black  female,  one  of  the  half-dozen  slaves 
that  had  become  her's  by  the  death  of  Mrs.  Bradfort.  Nei 
ther  spoke,  but  we  shook  hands  with  frankness ;  and  I  un 
derstood  by  the  anxious  expression  of  my  companion's  eye, 
all  she  wished  to  know. 

"  I  really  think  she  seems  better,  and  certainly  she  is  far 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  479 

more  cheerful,  within  his  last  day  or  two,"  1  answered  to 
the  appeal.  "  Yesterday  she  was  twice  at  church,  and  this 
morning,  for  a  novelty,  she  breakfasted  with  me." 

"  God  be  praised  !"  Lucy  exclaimed,  with  fervour.  Then 
she  sat  down  and  relieved  her  feelings  in  tears.  I  told  her 
to  expect  me  again,  in  a  few  minutes,  and  joined  the  physi 
cian,  who,  by  this  time,  was  apprised  of  my  presence.  The 
calm,  considerate  manner  of  Post,  gave  me  a  confidence  I 
had  not  felt  for  some  days ;  and  I  really  began  to  hope  it 
might  still  be  within  the  power  of  his  art  to  save  the  sister  I 
so  dearly  loved. 

Our  dispositions  for  quitting  the  sloop  were  soon  made, 
and  we  ascended  the  hill  together,  Lucy  leaning  on  my  arm. 
On  its  summit  was  the  chaise,  into  which  the  Doctor  and 
Marble  were  persuaded  to  enter,  Lucy  preferring  to  walk. 
The  negress  was  to  proceed  in  the  vehicle  that  had  been 
sent  for  the  luggage,  and  Lucy  and  I  set  out,  arm  and  arm, 
to  walk  rather  more  than  a  mile  in  company,  and  that  too 
without  the  presence  of  a  third  person.  Such  an  occurrence, 
under  any  other  circumstances  than  those  in  which  we  were 
both  placed,  would  have  made  me  one  of  the  happiest  men 
on  earth ;  but,  in  the  actual  situation  in  which  I  found  my 
self,  it  rendered  me  silent  and  uncomfortable.  Not  so  with 
Lucy ;  ever  natural,  and  keeping  truth  incessantly  before 
her  eyes,  the  dear  girl  took  my  arm  without  the  least  em 
barrassment,  and  showed  no  sign  of  impatience,  or  of  doubt. 
She  was  sad,  but  full  of  a  gentle  confidence  in  her  own  sin 
cerity  and  motives. 

"  This  is  dear  Clawbonny,  again  !"  she  exclaimed,  after 
we  had  walked  in  silence  a  short  distance.  "  How  beautiful 
are  the  fields,  how  fresh  the  woods,  how  sweet  the  flowers ! 
Oh !  Miles,  a  day  in  such  a  spot  as  this,  is  worth  a  year  in 
town  !" 

"  Why,  then,  do  you,  who  have  now  so  much  at  your 
command,  pass  more  than  half  your  time  between  the  heated 
bricks  of  Wall  Street,  when  you  know  how  happy  we  should 
ttll  be  to  see  you,  here,  among  us,  again  ?" 

"  I  have  not  been  certain  of  this ;  that  has  been  the  sole 
reason  of  my  absence.  Had  I  known  I  should  be  welcome, 
nothing  would  have  induced  me  to  suffer  Grace  to  pass  the 
last  six  sad,  sad,  months  by  herself." 


480  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

"  Known  that  you  should  be  welcome !  Surely  you  have 
not  supposed,  Lucy,  that  /can  ever  regard  you  as  anything 
out  welcome,  here  ?" 

"  I  had  no  allusion  to  you  —  thought  not  of  you,  Miles,  at 
all"  —  answered  Lucy,  with  the  quiet  manner  of  one  who 
felt  she  was  thinking,  acting,  and  speaking  no  more  than 
what  was  perfectly  right  —  "My  mind  was  dwelling  alto 
gether  on  Grace." 

"  Is  it  possible  you  could  doubt  of  Grace's  willingness  to 
see  you,  at  all  times  and  in  all  places,  Lucy  !" 

"  I  have  doubted  it — have  thought  I  was  acting  prudently 
and  well,  in  staying  away,  just  at  this  time,  though  I  now 
begin  to  fear  the  decision  has  been  hasty  and  unwise." 

"  May  I  ask  why  Lucy  Hardinge  has  come  to  so  singular 
and  violent  an  opinion,  as  connected  with  her  bosom  friend, 
and  almost  sister,  Grace  Wallingford  ?" 

"  That  almost  sister  f  Oh  !  Miles,  what  is  there  I  possess 
which  I  would  not  give,  that  there  might  be  perfect  confi 
dence,  again,  between  you  and  me,  on  this  subject ;  such 
confidence  as  existed  when  we  were  boy  and  girl — children, 
I  might  say." 

"  And  what  prevents  it  ?  Certain  I  am  the  alienation  does 
not,  cannot  come  from  me.  You  have  only  to  speak,  Lucy, 
to  have  an  attentive  listener ;  to  ask,  to  receive  the  truest 
answers.  What  can,  then,  prevent  the  confidence  you 
wish  ?" 

"  There  is  one  obstacle  —  surely,  Miles,  you  can  readily 
imagine  what  I  mean  ?" 

*  Can  it  be  possible  Lucy  is  alluding  to  Andrew  Drewett !' 
— I  thought  to  myself.  *  Has  she  discovered  my  attachment, 
and  does  she,  will  she,  can  she  regret  her  own  engagement?' 
A  lover  who  thought  thus,  would  not  be  apt  to  leave  the 
question  long  in  doubt. 

"  Deal  plainly  with  me,  I  implore  of  you,  Lucy,"  I  said, 
solemnly.  "  One  word  uttered  with  your  old  sincerity  and 
frankness  may  close  a  chasm  that  has  now  been  widening 
between  us  for  the  last  year  or  two.  What  is  the  obstacle 
you  mean?" 

"  I  have  seen  and  felt  the  alienation  to  which  you  allude 
quite  as  sensibly  as  you  can  have  done  so  yourself,  Miles," 
the  dear  girl  answered  in  her  natural,  simple  manner,  "and 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  481 

f  will  trust  all  to  your  generosity.  Need  I  say  more,  to 
explain  what  I  mean,  than  mention  the  name  of  Rupert  ?" 

**  What  of  him,  Lucy  ?  —  be  explicit ;  vague  allusions 
may  be  worse  than  nothing." 

Lucy's  little  hand  was  on  my  arm,  and  she  had  drawn 
its  glove  on  account  of  the  heat.  I  felt  it  press  me,  almost 
convulsively,  as  she  added  —  "I  do,  I  must  think  you  have 
too  much  affection  and  gratitude  for  my  dear  father,  too 
much  regard  for  me,  ever  to  forget  that  you  and  Rupert 
once  lived  together  as  brothers  f 

"  Grace  has  my  promise  already,  on  that  subject.  I  shall 
never  take  the  world's  course  with  Rupert,  in  this  affair." 

I  heard  Lucy's  involuntary  sob,  as  if  she  gasped  for 
breath  ;  and,  turning,  I  saw  her  sweet  eyes  bent  on  my  face 
with  an  expression  of  thankfulness  that  could  not  be  mis 
taken. 

"  I  would  have  given  the  same  pledge  to  you,  Lucy,  and 
purely  on  your  own  account.  It  would  be  too  much  to  cause 
you  to  mourn  for  your  brother's " 

I  did  not  name  the  offence,  lest  my  feelings  should  tempt 
me  to  use  too  strong  a  term. 

"  This  is  all  I  ask — all  I  desire,  Miles ;  bless  you — bless 
you !  for  having  so  freely  given  me  this  assurance.  Now 
my  heart  is  relieved  from  this  burthen,  I  am  ready  to  speak 
frankly  to  you  ;  still,  had  I  seen  Grace " 

"  Have  no  scruples  on  account  of  your  regard  for  wo 
manly  feeling — I  know  everything,  and  shall  not  attempt  to 
conceal  from  you,  that  disappointed  love  for  Rupert  has 
brought  my  sister  to  the  state  she  is  in.  This  might  not 
have  happened,  had  either  of  us  been  with  her ;  but,  buried 
as  she  has  been  alone  in  this  place,  her  wounded  sensibili 
ties  have  proved  too  strong  for  a  frame  that  is  so  delicate." 

There  was  a  pause  of  a  minute,  after  I  ended. 

"  I  have  long  feared  that  some  such  calamity  would  be 
fall  us,"  Lucy  answered,  in  a  low,  measured  tone.  "I  think 
you  do  not  understand  Grace  as  well  as  I  do,  Miles.  Her 
mind  arid  feelings  have  a  stronger  influence  than  common 
over  her  body ;  and  I  fear  no  society  of  ours,  or  of  others, 
could  have  saved  her  this  trial.  Still,  we  must  not  despair, 
It  is  a  trial — that  is  just  the  word  ;  and  by  means  of  tender 
ness,  the  most  sedulous  care,  good  advice,  and  all  that  we 
41 


482  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

two  can  do  to  aid,  there  must  yet  be  hope.  Now  there  is  q 
skilful  physician  here,  he  must  be  dealt  fairly  by,  and  should 
know  the  whole." 

"  I  intended  to  consult  you  on  this  subject — one  has  such 
a  reluctance  to  expose  Grace's  most  sacred  feelings !" 

"  Surely  it  need  not  go  quite  as  far  as  that,"  returned 
Lucy,  with  sensitive  quickness  ,  "  something — much — must 
be  left  to  conjecture ;  but  Dr.  Post  must  know  that  the  mmd 
is  at  the  bottom  of  the  evil ;  though  I  fear  that  young  ladies 
can  seldom  admit  the  existence  of  such  a  complaint,  without 
having  it  attributed  to  a  weakness  of  this  nature." 

"  That  proceeds  from  the  certainty  that  your  sex  has  so 
much  heart,  Lucy  ;  your  very  existence  being  bound  up  in 
others." 

"  Grace  is  one  of  peculiar  strength  of  affections — but, 
Miles,  we  will  talk  no  further  of  this  at  present.  I  scarce 
know  how  to  speak  of  my  brother's  affairs,  and  you  must 
give  me  time  to  reflect.  Now  we  are  at  Clawbonny  again, 
we  cannot  long  continue  strangers  to  each  other." 

This  was  said  so  sweetly,  1  could  have  knelt  and  kissed 
her  shoe-ties ;  and  yet  so  simply,  as  not  to  induce  misinter 
pretation.  It  served  to  change  the  discourse,  however,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  way  we  talked  of  the  past.  Lucy  spoke 
of  her  cousin's  death,  relating  various  little  incidents  to  show 
how  much  Mrs.  Bradfort  was  attached  to  her,  and  how  good 
a  woman  she  was  ;  but  not  a  syllable  was  said  of  the  will. 
I  was  required,  in  my  turn,  to  finish  the  narrative  of  my 
last  voyage,  which  had  not  been  completed  at  the  theatre. 
When  Lucy  learned  that  the  rough  seaman  who  had  come 
in  the  sloop  was  Marble,  she  manifested  great  interest  in 
him,  declaring,  had  she  known  it  during  the  passage,  that 
she  would  have  introduced  herself.  All  this  time,  Rupert's 
name  was  not  mentioned  between  us ;  and  I  reached  the 
house,  feeling  that  something  like  the  interest  I  had  formerly 
possessed  there,  had  been  awakened  in  the  bosom  of  my 
companion.  She  was,  at  least,  firmly  and  confidingly  my 
friend. 

Chloe  met  Lucy  at  the  door  with  a  message — Miss  Grace 
wanted  to  see  Miss  Lucy,  alone.  I  dreaded  this  interview, 
and  looked  forward  to  being  present  at  it ;  but  Lucy  begged 
me  to  confide  in  her,  and  I  felt  bound  to  comply.  Whi  e 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  483 

the  dear  girl  was  gone  to  my  sister's  room,  I  sought  the 
physician,  with  whom  I  had  a  brief  but  explicit  conference. 
I  told  this  gentleman  how  much  Grace  had  been  alone,  per 
mitting  sorrow  to  wear  upon  her  frame,  and  gave  him  to 
understand  that  the  seat  of  my  sister's  malady  was  mental 
suffering.  Post  was  a  cool,  discriminating  man,  and  he 
ventured  no  remark  until  he  had  seen  his  patient ;  though  I 
could  perceive,  by  the  keen  manner  in  which  his  piercing 
eye  was  fixed  on  mine,  that  all  I  said  was  fully  noted. 

It  was  more  than  an  hour  before  Lucy  reappeared.  It 
was  obvious  at  a  glance  that  she  had  been  dreadfully  agi 
tated,  and  cruelly  surprised  at  the  condition  in  which  sho 
had  found  Grace.  It  was  not  that  disease,  in  any  of  its 
known  forms,  was  so  very  apparent ;  but  that  my  sister 
resembled  already  a  being  of  another  world,  in  the  beaming 
of  her  countenance — in  the  bright,  unearthly  expression  of 
her  eyes — and  in  the  slightness  and  delicacy  of  the  hold  she 
seemed,  generally,  to  have  on  life.  Grace  had  always 
something  of  this  about  her — much,  I  might  better  have  said  ; 
but  it  now  appeared  to  be  left  nearly  alone,  as  her  thoughts 
and  strength  gradually  receded  from  the  means  of  exist 
ence. 

The  physician  returned  with  Lucy  to  my  sister's  room, 
where  he  passed  more  than  an  hour ;  as  long  a  time,  indeed, 
he  afterwards  told  me  himself,  as  he  thought  could  be  done 
without  fatiguing  his  patient.  The  advice  he  gave  me  was 
cautious  and  discreet.  Certain  tonics  were  prescribed  ;  we 
were  told  to  endeavour  to  divert  the  mind  of  our  precious 
charge  from  her  sources  of  uneasiness,  by  gentle  means  and 
prudent  expedients.  Change  of  scene  was  advised  also, 
could  it  be  done  without  producing  too  much  fatigue.  I  sug 
gested  the  Wallingford,  as  soon  as  this  project  was  men 
tioned.  She  was  a  small  sloop,  it  is  true,  but  had  two  very 
comfortable  cabins ;  my  father  having  had  one  of  them 
constructed  especially  in  reference  to  my  mother's  occasional 
visits  to  town.  The  vessel  did  little,  at  that  season  of  the 
year,  besides  transporting  flour  to  market,  and  bringing  back 
wheat.  In  the  autumn,  she  carried  wood,  and  the  products 
of  the  neigh bournood.  A  holiday  might  be  granted  her,  and 
no  harm  come  of  it.  Dr.  Post  approved  the  idea,  saying 


484  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

frankly  there  was  no  objection  but  the  expense ;  if  I  could 
bear  that,  a  better  plan  could  not  possibly  be  adopted. 

That  night  we  discussed  the  matter  in  the  family  circle, 
Mr.  Hardinge  having  come  from  the  Rectory  to  join  us. 
Everybody  approved  of  the  scheme,  it  was  so  much  better 
than  leaving  Grace  to  pine  away  by  herself  in  the  solitude 
of  Clawbonny. 

"  I  have  a  patient  at  the  Springs,"  said  Dr.  Post,  "  who  is 
very  anxious  to  see  me ;  and,  to  own  the  truth,  I  am  a  little 
desirous  of  drinking  the  waters  myself,  for  a  week.  Carry 
me  to  Albany,  and  land  me ;  after  which  you  can  descend 
the  river,  and  continue  your  voyage  to  as  many  places,  and 
for  as  long  a  time,  as  the  strength  of  Miss  Wallingford,  and 
your  own  inclinations,  shall  dictate." 

This  project  seemed  excellent  in  all  our  eyes ;  even  Grace 
heard  it  with  a  smile,  placing  herself  entirely  in  our  hands. 
It  was  decided  to  put  it  in  practice. 


CHAPTEK  XXX. 

"  And  she  sits  and  gazes  at  me, 
With  those  deep  and  tender  eyes, 
Like  the  stars,  so  still  and  saint-like, 
Looking  downward  from  the  skies." 

LONGFELLOW. 

THE  next  morning  I  set  about  the  measures  necessary  foi 
carrying  out  our  plan.  Marble  was  invited  to  be  of  the 
party,  the  arrangements  concerning  the  ship,  allowing  of 
his  absence  for  a  few  days.  Once  engaged,  he  was  of  infi 
nite  service,  entering  into  the  plan  as  my  mate.  The  regu 
lar  skipper  was  glad  to  have  a  furlough ;  and  I  retained  on 
board  no  one  of  the  proper  crew  but  the  river-pilot ;  a  man 
who  could  not  be  dispensed  with.  By  this  arrangement,  we 
cleared  the  cabin  from  company  that  was  not  desirable  for 
the  circumstances.  Neb,  and  three  of  the  Clawbonny 
blacks,  were  delighted  to  go  on  such  an  excursion,  and  all 
were  more  or  less  familiar  with  the  little  duty  that  would  be 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  485 

required  of  them.  Indeed,  Marble,  Neb  and  myself,  were 
every  way  able  to  take  care  of  the  vessel.  But  we  chose  to 
have  plenty  of  physical  force ;  and  a  cook  was  indispensa 
ble.  Clawbonny  supplied  the  latter,  in  the  person  of  old 
Dido  of  that  ilk. 

By  noon,  the  whole  party  were  ready  to  embark.  Grace 
was  driven  to  the  wharf,  and  she  walked  on  board  the  sloop, 
supported  by  Lucy  and  myself;  more,  however,  from  soli 
citude  than  from  absolute  necessity.  Every  precaution, 
however,  was  taken  by  order  of  the  physician  to  prevent 
anything  like  excitement;  the  blacks,  in  particular,  who 
would  have  followed  "Miss  Grace"  to  the  water's  edge, 
being  ordered  to  remain  at  home.  Chloe,  to  her  manifest 
satisfaction,  was  permitted  to  accompany  her  "  young  mis 
tress,"  and  great  was  her  delight.  How  often  that  day,  did 
the  exclamation  of  "  de  feller,"  escape  her,  as  she  witness 
ed  Neb's  exploits  in  different  parts  of  the  sloop.  It  was 
some  little  time  before  I  could  account  for  the  black's  super 
fluous  activity,  imputing  it  to  zeal  in  my  sister's  service ; 
but,  in  the  end,  I  discovered  Grace  had  to  share  the  glory 
with  Chloe. 

No  sooner  was  everybody  on  board  than  we  cast  off. 
The  jib  was  soon  up ;  and  under  this  short  sail,  we  moved 
slowly  out  of  the  creek,  with  a  pleasant  southerly  breeze. 
As  we  passed  the  point,  there  stood  the  whole  household 
arrayed  in  a  line,  from  the  tottering  grey-headed  and  mud 
dy-looking  negro  of  seventy,  down  to  the  glistening,  jet- 
black  toddling  things  of  two  and  three.  The  distance  was 
so  small,  it  was  easy  to  trace  even  the  expressions  of  the 
different  countenances,  which  varied  according  to  the  expe 
rience,  forebodings,  and  characters  of  the  different  indivi 
duals.  Notwithstanding  the  sort  of  reverential  attachment 
all  felt  for  "  Miss  Grace,"  and  the  uncertainty  some  among 
these  unsophisticated  creatures  must  have  experienced  on 
the  subject  of  her  health,  it  was  not  in  nature  for  such  a 
cluster  of  "  niggers"  to  exhibit  unhappiness,  at  a  moment 
when  there  were  so  many  grounds  of  excitement.  The 
people  of  this  race  know  nothing  of  the  word,  perhaps  ;  but 
they  delight  in  the  thing,  quite  as  much  as  if  they  did  no 
thing  but  electioneer  all  their  lives.  Most  pliant  instruments 
would  their  untutored  feelings  make  in  the  hands  of  your 
41* 


486  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

demagogue;  and,  possibly,  it  may  have  some  little  influ 
ence  on  the  white  American  to  understand,  how  strong  is 
his  resemblance  to  the  "  nigger,"  when  he  gives  himself  up 
to  the  mastery  of  this  much  approved  mental  power.  The 
day  was  glorious ;  a  brighter  sun  never  shining  in  Italy,  or 
on  the  Grecian  islands  ;  the  air  balmy  ;  the  vessel  was  gay 
to  the  eye,  having  been  painted  about  a  month  before,  and 
every  one  seemed  bent  on  a  holiday ;  circumstances  suffi 
cient  in  themselves,  to  make  this  light-hearted  race  smiling 
and  happy.  As  the  sloop  went  slowly  past,  the  whole  line 
doffed  their  hats,  or  curtsied,  showing  at  the  same  time  a 
row  of  ivory  that  shone  like  so  many  gay  windows  in  their 
sable  faces.  I  could  see  that  Grace  was  touched  by  this 
manifestation  of  interest ;  such  a  field-day  in  the  Clawbonny 
corps  not  having  occurred  since  the  first  time  my  mother 
went  to  town,  after  the  death  of  my  father.  Fortunately, 
everything  else  was  soothing  to  my  sister's  spirits ;  and,  so 
long  as  she  could  sit  on  the  deck,  holding  Lucy's  hand,  and 
enjoy  the  changing  landscape,  with  her  brother  within  call, 
it  was  not  possible  she  should  be  altogether  without  happi 
ness. 

Rounding  the  point,  as  we  entered  the  river,  the  Walling- 
ford  eased-off  sheet,  set  a  studding-sail  and  flying-top-sail, 
and  began  to  breast  the  Hudson,  on  her  way  towards  its 
sources. 

In  1 803,  the  celebrated  river  we  were  navigating,  though 
it  had  all  the  natural  features  it  possesses  to-day,  was  by  no 
means  the  same  picture  of  moving  life.  The  steam-boat  did 
not  appear  on  its  surface  until  four  years  later;  and  the 
journeys  up  and  down  its  waters,  were  frequently  a  week  in 
length.  In  that  day,  the  passenger  did  not  hurry  on  board, 
just  as  a  bell  was  disturbing  the  neighbourhood,  hustling  hif 
way  through  a  rude  throng  of  porters,  cart-men,  orange- 
women,  and  news-boys,  to  save  his  distance  by  just  a  minute 
and  a  half,  but  his  luggage  was  often  sent  to  the  vessel  the 
day  before ;  he  passed  his  morning  in  saying  adieu,  and 
when  he  repaired  to  the  vessel,  it  was  with  gentleman-like 
leisure,  often  to  pass  hours  on  board  previously  to  sailing, 
and  not  unfrequently  to  hear  the  unwelcome  tidings  that  this 
event  was  deferred  until  the  next  day.  How  different,  too, 
was  the  passage,  from  one  in  a  steam-boat !  There  was  no 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  487 

jostling  of  each  other,  no  scrambling  for  places  at  table,  no 
bolting  of  food,  no  impertinence  manifested,  no  swearing 
about  missing  the  eastern  or  southern  boats,  or  Schenec- 
tady,  or  Saratoga,  or  Boston  trains,  on  account  of  a  screw 
being  loose,  nor  any  other  unseemly  manifestation  that  any 
body  was  in  a  hurry.  On  the  contrary,  wine  and  fruit 
were  provided,  as  if  the  travellers  intended  to  enjoy  them 
selves  ;  and  a  journey  in  that  day  was  a  festa.  No  more 
embarked  than  could  be  accommodated ;  and  the  company 
being  selected,  the  cabin  was  taken  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
unwelcome  intruders.  Now,  the  man  who  should  order  a 
bottle  of  wine  to  be  placed  at  the  side  of  his  plate,  would  be 
stared  at  as  a  fool ;  arid  not  without  reason  altogether,  for, 
did  it  escape  the  claws  of  his  convives  and  the  waiters,  he 
would  probably  reach  the  end  of  his  journey  before  he  could 
drink  it.  In  1803,  not  only  did  the  dinner  pass  in  peace, 
and  with  gentleman-like  deliberation ;  not  only  were  the 
cooler  and  the  fruit  taken  on  deck,  and  the  one  sipped  and 
the  other  eaten  at  leisure,  in  the  course  of  an  afternoon,  but 
in  the  course  of  many  afternoons.  Passages  were  certainly 
made  in  twenty-four  hours  in  the  sloops  ;  but  these  were  the 
exceptions,  a  week  being  much  more  likely  to  be  the  time 
passed  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  beautiful  scenery  of  the 
river.  The  vessel  usually  got  aground,  once  at  least,  and 
frequently  several  times  in  a  trip ;  and  often  a  day,  or  two, 
were  thus  delightfully  lost,  giving  the  stranger  an  opportu 
nity  of  visiting  the  surrounding  country.  The  necessity  of 
anchoring,  with  a  foul  wind,  on  every  opposing  tide,  too, 
increased  these  occasions,  thus  lending  to  the  excursion 
something  of  the  character  of  an  exploring  expedition.  No 
— no — a  man  would  learn  more  in  one  passage,  up  or  down 
the  Hudson,  forty  years  since,  than  can  be  obtained  by  a 
dozen  at  the  present  time.  I  have  a  true  seaman's  dislike 
for  a  steam-boat,  and  sometimes  wish  they  were  struck 
out  of  existence ;  though  I  know  it  is  contrary  to  all  the 
principles  of  political  economy,  and  opposed  to  what  is  call 
ed  the  march  of  improvement.  Of  one  thing,  however,  I 
feel  quite  certain ;  that  these  inventions,  coupled  with  the 
gregarious  manner  of  living  that  has  sprung  up  In  the 
large  taverns,  is,  as  one  of  our  writers  expresses  it,  "  doing 


488  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

wonders  for  the  manners  of  the  people ;"  though,  in  my  view 
of  the  matter,  the  wonder  is,  that  they  have  any  left. 

There  might  have  been  thirty  sail  in  sight,  when  the  Wal- 
lingford  got  fairly  into  the  river,  some  turning  down  on  a 
young  ebb,  making  their  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  in  sU 
hours,  and  others  like  ourselves,  stealing  along  against  itT 
at  about  the  same  rate.  Half  a  dozen  of  these  craft  were 
quite  near  us,  and  the  decks  of  most  of  those  which  were 
steering  north,  had  parties  including  ladies,  evidently  pro 
ceeding  to  the  "  Springs."  I  desired  Marble  to  sheer  as 
close  to  these  different  vessels  as  was  convenient,  having  no 
other  object  in  view  than  amusement,  and  fancying  it  might 
aid  in  diverting  the  thoughts  of  my  sister  from  her  own  sor 
rows,  to  the  faces  and  concerns  of  others.  The  reader  will 
have  no  difficulty  in  understanding,  that  the  Wallingford, 
constructed  under  the  orders-  of  an  old  sailor,  and  for  his 
own  uses,  was  a  fast  vessel.  In  this  particular  she  had  but 
one  or  two  competitors  on  the  river ;  packets  belonging  to 
Hudson,  Poughkeepsie  and  Sing-Sing.  She  was  now  only 
in  fair  ballast-trim,  and  being  admirably  provided  with  sails, 
in  the  light  wind  we  had,  she  actually  went  four  feet  to 
most-of-the-other-vessels-in-sjght's  three.  My  request  to 
Marble  —  or,  order,  as  he  chose  to  call  it  —  was  easily 
enough  complied  with,  and  we  were  soon  corning  up  close 
on  the  quarter  of  a  sloop  that  had  its  decks  crowded  with 
passengers  who  evidently  belonged  to  the  better  class;  while, 
on  its  forecastle  were  several  horses,  and  a  carriage ;  cus 
tomary  accompaniments  to  such  a  scene  in  that  day. 

I  had  not  been  so  .happy  ia  a  long  time,  as  I  felt  at  that 
moment.  Grace  was  better,  as  I  fancied  at  least,  and  it  was 
certain  she  was  more  composed  and  less  nervous  than  I  had 
seen  her  since  my  return ;  and  this  of  itself  was  removing 
the  weight  of  a  mountain  from  my  heart.  There  was  Lucy, 
too,  her  rounded  cheek  rosy  with  the  pbasure  of  the  mo 
ment,  full  of  health,  and  with  eyes  that  never  turned  on  me 
that  they  did  not  beam  with  confidence  and  kindness  —  the 
sincerest  friendship,  if  not  love  —  while  every  look,  move 
ment,  syllable  or  gesture  that  was  directed  towards  Grace, 
betrayed  how  strongly  the  hearts  of  these  two  precious 
creatures  were  still  knit  together  in  sisterly  affection.  My 
guardian  too  seemed  happier  than  he  had  been  since  ow 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  489 

conversation  on  the  state  of  my  own  feelings  towards  his 
daughter.  He  had  made  a  condition,  that  we  should  all  — 
the  doctor  excepted  —  return  to  Clawbonny  in  time  for  ser 
vice  on  the  ensuing  Sunday,  and  he  was  then  actually  en 
gaged  in  looking  over  an  old  sermon  for  the  occasion, 
though  not  a  minute  passed  in  which  he  did  not  drop  the 
manuscript  to  gaze  about  him,  in  deep  enjoyment  of  the 
landscape.  The  scene,  moreover,  was  so  full  of  repose, 
that  even  the  movements  of  the  different  vessels  scarce 
changed  its  Sabbath-like  character.  I  repeat,  that  I  had 
not  felt  so  perfectly  happy  since  I  held  my  last  conversation 
with  the  Salem  Witches,  in  The  Duomo  of  Firenze. 

Marble  was  excessively  delighted  with  the  behaviour  of 
the  Wallingford.  The  latter  was  a  sloop  somewhat  smaller 
than  common,  though  her  accommodations  were  particularly 
commodious,  while  she  was  sparred  on  the  scale  of  a  flyer. 
Her  greatest  advantage  in  the  way  of  sailing,  however, 
would  have  been  no  great  recommendation  to  her  on  a 
wind ;  for  she  was  nearly  start  light,  and  might  not  have 
been  able  to  carry  full  sail  in  hard  November  weather,  even 
on  the  Hudson — a  river  on  which  serious  accidents  have 
been  known  to  occur.  There  was  little  danger  in  mid-sum 
mer,  however ;  and  we  went  gliding  up  on  the  quarter  of 
the  Gull  of  Troy,  without  feeling  concern  of  any  sort. 

"  What  sloop  is  that?"  demanded  the  skipper  of  the  Gull, 
as  our  boom-end  came  within  a  fathom  of  his  rail,  our  name 
being  out  of  his  view. 

"  The  Wallingford  of  Clawbonny,  just  out  of  port,  bound 
up  on  a  parly  of  pleasure." 

Now,  Clawbonny  was  not  then,  nor  is  it  now,  what  might 
be  called  a  legal  term.  There  was  no  such  place  known  in 
law,  beyond  the  right  which  usage  gives ;  and  I  heard  a  low 
laugh  among  the  passengers  of  the  Gull,  as  they  heard  the 
homely  appellation.  This  came  from  the  equivocal  position 
my  family  occupied,  midway  between  the  gentry  and  yeo 
manry  of  the  State,  as  they  both  existed  in  1803.  Had  I 
said  the  sloop  came  from  near  Coldenham,  it  would  have 
been  all  right ;  for  everybody  who  was  then  anybody  in 
New  York,  knew  who  the  Coldens  were  ;  or  Morrisania,  the 
Morrises  being  people  of  mark  ;  or  twenty  other  places  on 
the  river :  but  the  Wallingfords  were  as  little  known  as 


490  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

Clawbonny,  when  you  got  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  from  the 
spot  where  they  had  so  long  lived.  This  is  just  the  differ 
ence  between  obscurity  and  notoriety.  When  the  latter 
extends  to  an  entire  nation,  it  gives  an  individual,  or  a 
family,  the  note  that  frees  them  entirely  from  the  imputation 
of  existing  under  the  first  condition;  and  this  note,  favour 
ably  diffused  through  Christendom,  forms  a  reputation- 
transmitted  to  posterity,  it  becomes  fame.  Unfortunately, 
neither  we  nor  our  place  had  even  reached  the  first  simple 
step  in  this  scale  of  renown ;  and  poor  Clawbonny  was 
laughed  at,  on  account  of  something  Dutch  that  was  proba 
bly  supposed  to  exist  in  the  sound — the  Anglo-Saxon  race 
having  a  singular  aptitude  to  turn  up  their  noses  at  every 
thing  but  their  own  possessions,  and  everybody  but  them 
selves.  I  looked  at  Lucy,  with  sensitive  quickness,  to  see 
how  she  received  this  sneer  on  my  birth-place ;  but,  with 
her,  it  was  so  much  a  matter  of  course  to  think  well  of 
everything  connected  with  the  spot,  its  name  as  well  as  its 
more  essential  things,  that  I  do  not  believe  she  perceived 
this  little  sign  of  derision. 

While  the  passengers  of  the  Gull  felt  this  disposition  to 
smile,  it  was  very  different  with  her  skipper ;  his  Dutch  pilot, 
whose  name  was  Abrahamus  Van  Valtenberg,  but  who  was 
more  familiarly  known  as  'Brom  Folleck,  for  so  the  children 
of  New  Netherlands  twisted  their  cognomens  in  converting 
them  into  English  ;*  the  black  cook,  the  mulatto  steward, 
and  the  "  all  hands,"  who  were  one  man  and  a  boy.  There 
had  been  generations  of  sloops  which  bore  the  name  of 
Wallingford,  as  well  as  generations  of  men,  at  Clawbonny; 
and  this  every  river-man  knew.  In  point  of  fact,  we  counted 
four  generations  of  men,  and  six  of  sloops.  Now,  none  of 
these  vessels  was  worthy  of  being  mentioned,  but  this  which 
my  father  had  caused  to  be  built ;  but  she  had  a  reputation 
that  extended  to  everybody  on  the  river.  The  effect  of  all 

*  A  story  is  told  of  a  Scotchman  of  the  name  of  Farquharson,  who 
settled  among1  the  High  Dutch  on  the  Mohawk,  sometime  previously 
to  the  Revolution;  where,  unable  to  pronounce  his  name,  the  worthy 
farmers  called  him  Feuerstein  (pronounced  Firestyne).  The  son 
lived  and  died  under  this  appellation ;  but  the  grandson,  removing  to 
a  part  of  the  country  where  English  alone  was  spoken,  chose  to  angli 
sise  his  name  ;  and,  by  giving  it  a  free  translation,  became  Mr.  Flint ' 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE.  49 1 

this  was  to  induce  the  skipper  of  the  Gull  to  raise  his  hat, 
and  to  say — 

"  That,  then,  I  suppose  is  Mr.  Wallingford  himself — you 
are  welcome  back  on  the  river ;  I  remember  the  time  well, 
when  your  respected  father  would  make  that  boat  do  any 
thing  but  talk.  Nothing  but  the  new  paint,  which  is  dif 
ferent  from  the  last,  prevented  me  from  knowing  the  sloop. 
Had  I  taken  a  look  at  her  bows,  this  couldn't  have  hap 
pened." 

This  speech  evidently  gave  me  and  my  vessel  an  estima 
tion  with  the  passengers  of  the  Gull  that  neither  had  enjoyed 
the  moment  before.  There  was  some  private  conversation 
on  the  quarter-deck  of  the  other  vessel,  and,  then,  a  highly 
respectable  and  gentleman-like  looking  old  man,  came  to 
the  rail,  bowed,  and  commenced  a  discourse. 

"  I  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Captain  Wallingford,  1 
believe,"  he  remarked,  "  with  whom  my  friends,  the  Mer- 
tons,  came  passengers  from  China.  They  have  often  ex 
pressed  their  sense  of  your  civilities,"  he  continued,  as  I 
bowed  in  acquiescence,  "  and  declare  they  should  ever  wish 
to  sail  with  you,  were  they  again  compelled  to  go  to  sea." 

Now,  this  was  viewing  my  relation  to  the  Mertons  in  any 
point  of  view  but  that  in  which  I  wished  it  to  be  viewed,  or 
indeed  was  just.  Still  it  was  natural ;  and  the  gentleman 
who  spoke,  a  man  of  standing  and  character,  no  doubt  fan 
cied  he  was  saying  that  which  must  prove  particularly 
acceptable  to  me  ;  another  proof  how  dangerous  it  is  to 
attempt  to  decide  on  other  men's  feelings  or  affairs.  I  could 
not  decline  the  discourse;  and,  while  the  Wallingford  went 
slowly  past  the  Gull,  I  was  compelled  to  endure  the  torment 
of  hearing  the  Mertons  mentioned,  again  and  again,  in  the 
hearing  of  Lucy  and  Grace;  on  the  nerves  of  the  latter  of 
whom  I  knew  it  must  be  a  severe  trial.  At  length  we  got 
rid  of  this  troublesome  neighbour,  though  not  until  Lucy 
and  her  father  were  recognised  and  spoken  to  by  several  of 
the  ladies  in  the  other  party.  While  my  late  guardian  and 
his  daughter  were  thus  engaged,  I  stole  a  glance  at  my  sis 
ter.  She  was  pale  as  death,  and  seemed  anxious  to  go 
below,  whither  I  led  her,  most  happily,  I  have  every  reason 
.o  think,  as  things  turned  out. 

When  the  Wallingford  had  left  the  Gull  some  little  dis- 


4  92  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

tance  ast3i*n,  I  returned  to  the  deck,  and  Lucy  went  to 
my  place  by  the  side  of  Grace's  berth.  She  reappeared, 
however,  in  a  very  few  minutes,  saying  thai  my  sister  felt 
an  inclination  to  rest  herself,  and  might  fall  asleep.  Feeble, 
almost,  as  an  infant,  these  frequent  slumbers  had  become 
necessary,  in  a  measure,  to  the  patient's  powers.  Chloe 
coming  up  soon  after  with  a  report  that  her  young  mistress 
seemed  to  be  in  a  doze,  we  all  remained  on  deck,  in  order 
not  to  disturb  her.  In  this  manner,  half  an  hour  passed, 
and  we  had  drawn  quite  near  to  another  sloop  that  was 
going  in  the  same  direction  with  ourselves.  At  this  moment, 
Mr.  Hardinge  was  deeply  immersed  in  his  sermon,  and  I 
perceived  that  Lucy  looked  at  him,  from  time  to  time,  as  if 
she  expected  to  catch  his  eye.  I  fancied  something  dis 
tressed  her,  and  yet  it  was  not  easy  to  imagine  exactly  what 
it  could  be. 

"  Do  you  not  intend  to  go  nearer  the  other  sloop  ?"  Lucy 
at  length  inquired,  alluding  to  the  vessel  that  was  almost 
in  a  line  with  us  ;  .but  to  which  I  had  ordered  Neb  to  give 
a  respectable  berth. 

"  I  thought  the  gossip  of  the  last  quite  sufficient ;  but,  if 
you  like  these  interviews,  certainly." 

Lucy  seemed  embarrassed  ;  she  coloured  to  her  temples, 
paused  a  moment,  and  then  added,  affecting  to  laugh — and 
it  was  so  seldom  Lucy  affected  anything,  but  this  time  she 
did  affect  to  laugh — as  she  said — 

"  I  do  wish  to  go  near  that  sloop  ;  though  it  is  not  exactly 
for  the  reason  you  suppose." 

I  could  see  she  was  distressed,  though  it  was  not  yet  easy 
to  imagine  the  cause.  Lucy's  requests  were  laws  to  me, 
nnd  Neb  was  ordered  to  sheer  down  on  the  quarter  of  this 
second  sloop,  as  we  had  done  on  that  of  the  first.  As  we  drew 
near,  her  stern  told  us  that  she  was  called  the  "  Orpheus  of 
Sing-Sing,"  a  combination  of  names  that  proved  some  wag 
had  been  connected  with  the  christening.  Her  decks  had  also 
a  party  of  both  sexes  on  them,  though  neither  carriage  nor 
horses.  All  this  time,  Lucy  stood  quite  near  me,  as  if 
reluctant  to  move,  and  when  we  were  sufficiently  near  the 
sloop,  she  pressed  still  nearer  to  rny  side,  in  the  way  in  which 
her  sex  are  apt  to  appeal  to  those  of  the  other  who  possess 
their  confidence,  when  most  feeling  the  necessity  of  support 


AFLOAT     AND      ASHORE.  493 

"  Now,  Miles,"  she  said,  in  an  under  tone,  "  you  must 
4  speak  that  sloop,'  as  you  call  it ;  I  can  never  hold  a  loud 
conversation  of  this  sort,  in  the  presence  of  so  many 
strangers." 

"  Very  willingly,  Lucy  ;  though  you  will  have  the  good 
ness  to  let  me  know  exactly  what  I  am  to  say." 

"  Certainly — begin  then,  in  your  sailor  fashion,  and  when 
that  is  done,  I  will  tell  you  what  to  add." 

"  Enough — Orpheus,  there  ?"  I  called  out,  just  raising  my 
voice  sufficiently  to  be  heard. 

"  Ay,  ay, — what's  wanted  ?"  answered  the  skipper,  taking 
a  pipe  from  his  mouth,  as  he  leaned  with  his  back  against 
his  own  tiller,  in  a  way  that  was  just  in  accordance  with  the 
sleepy  character  of  the  scene. 

I  looked  at  Lucy,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  what  next  ?" 

"  Ask  him  if  Mrs.  Drewett  is  on  board  his  sloop  —  Mrs. 
Andrew  Drewett,  not  Mr.  —  The  old  lady,  I  mean,"  added 
the  dear  girl,  blushing  to  the  eyes. 

I  was  so  confounded  —  I  might  almost  add  appalled,  that 
it  was  with  great  difficulty  I  suppressed  an  exclamation. 
Command  myself,  I  did,  however,  and  observing  that  the 
skipper  was  curiously  awaiting  my  next  question,  I  put  it. 

"  Is  Mrs.  Andrew  Drewett  among  your  passengers,  sir?" 
I  inquired,  with  a  cold  distinctness. 

My  neighbour  nodded  his  head,  and  spoke  to  some  of  his 
passengers,  most  of  whom  were  on  the  main-deck,  seated  on 
chairs,  and  concealed  from  us,  as  yet,  by  the  Wallingford's 
main-sail,  her  boom  being  guyed  out  on  the  side  next  the 
Orpheus,  with  its  end  just  clear  of  her  quarter. 

"  She  is,  and  wishes  to  know  who  makes  the  inquiry  V' 
returned  the  Sing-Sing  skipper,  in  the  singsong  manner  in 
which  ordinary  folk  repeat  what  is  dictated. 

"  Say  that  Miss  Hardinge  has  a  message  to  Mrs.  Drewett 
from  Mrs.  Ogilvie,  who  is  on  board  that  other  sloop,"  added 
Lucy,  in  a  low,  and,  as  I  thought,  tremulous  tone. 

I  was  nearly  choked  ;  but  made  out  to  communicate  the 
fact,  as  directed.  In  an  instant  I  heard  the  foot  of  one  who 
leaped  on  the  Orpheus's  quarter-deck,  and  then  Andrew 
Drewett  appeared,  hat  in  hand,  a  face  all  smiles,  eyes  that 
told  his  tale  as  plain  as  any  tongue  could  have  uttered  it, 
and  such  salutations  as  denoted  the  most  perfect  intimacy. 
42 


494  AFLOAT      IND     ASHORE. 

Lucy  took  my  arm  involuntarily,  and  I  could  feel  that  she 
trembled.  Thft  two  vessels  were  now  so  near,  and  every, 
thing  around  us  was  so  tranquil,  that  by  Lucy's  advancing 
to  the  Wallingford's  quarter-deck,  and  Drewett's  coming  to 
the  taffrail  of  the  Orpheus,  it  was  easy  to  converse  without 
any  unseemly  raising  of  the  voice.  All  that  had  been  said 
between  me  and  the  skipper,  indeed,  had  been  said  on  a  key 
but  little  higher  than  common.  By  the  change  in  Lucy's 
position,  I  could  no  longer  see  her  face ;  but  I  knew  it  was 
suffused,  and  that  she  was  far  from  being  as  composed  and 
collected  as  was  usual  with  her  demeanour.  All  this  was 
death  to  my  recent  happiness,  though  I  could  not  abstain 
from  watching  what  now  passed,  with  the  vigilance  of 
jealousy. 

"  Good-morning,"  Lucy  commenced,  and  the  words  were 
uttered  in  a  tone  that  I  thought  bespoke  great  familiarity,  if 
not  confidence ;  "  will  you  have  the  goodness  to  tell  your 
mother  that  Mrs.  Ogilvie  begs  she  will  not  leave  Albany 
until  after  her  arrival.  The  other  sloop,  Mrs.  Ogilvie  thinks, 
cannot  be  more  than  an  hour  or  two  after  you,  and  she  is 

very  desirous  of  making  a  common  party  to ah  !  there 

comes  Mrs.  Drewett,"  said  Lucy,  hastily  interrupting  her 
self,  "  and  I  can  deliver  my  message,  myself." 

Mrs.  Drewett  coming  aft  at  this  instant,  Lucy  certainly 
did  turn  to  her,  and  communicated  a  message,  which  it 
seems  the  lady  in  the  Gull  had  earnestly  requested  her  to 
deliver  in  passing. 

"  And  now,"  returned  Mrs.  Drewett,  when  Lucy  had 
ceased,  first  civilly  saluting  me,  »*  and  now,  my  dear  Lucy, 
we  have  something  for  you.  So  sudden  was  your  departure, 
on  the  receipt  of  that  naughty  letter,"  my  letter,  summoning 
the  dear  girl  to  the  bed-side  of  her  friend,  was  meant,  "  that 
you  left  your  work-box  behind  you,  and,  as  I  knew  it  con 
tained  many  notes  besides  bank-notes,  I  would  not  allow  it 
to  be  separated  from  me,  until  we  met.  Here  it  is  ;  in  what 
manner  shall  we  contrive  to  get  it  into  your  hands?" 

Lucy  started,  and  I  could  see  that  she  both  felt  and 
looked  anxious.  As  I  afterwards  learned,  she  had  been 
passing  a  day  at  Mrs.  Drewett's  villa,  which  joined  her 
own,  both  standing  on  the  rocks  quite  near  to  that  spot 
which  a  mawkish  set  among  us  is  trying  to  twist  from  plain 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  495 

homely,  up-and-down,  old  fashioned  Hell  Gate,  into  the  ex 
quisite  and  lackadaisical  corruption  of  Hurl  Gate — Heaven 
save  the  mark  !  What  puny  piece  of  folly  and  affectation 
will  they  attempt  next  ?  —  but  Lucy  was  paying  this  visit 
when  she  received  my  letter,  and  it  appears  such  was  her 
haste  to  get  to  Grace,  that  she  quitted  the  house  immedi 
ately,  leaving  behind  her  a  small  work-box,  unlocked,  and 
in  it  various  papers  that  she  did  not  wish  read.  Of  course, 
one  of  Lucy's  sentiments  and  tone,  could  hardly  suspect  a 
lady,  and  Mrs.  Drewett  was  strictly  that,  of  rummaging  her 
box  or  of  reading  her  notes  and  letters ;  but  one  is  never 
easy  when  such  things  can  be  supposed  to  be  in  the  way  of 
impertinent  eyes.  There  are  maids  as  well  as  mistresses, 
and  I  could  see,  in  a  moment,  that  she  wished  the  box  was 
again  in  her  own  possession.  Under  the  circumstances, 
therefore,  I  felt  it  was  time  to  interfere. 

"If  your  sloop  will  round-to,  Mr.  Drewett,"  I  remarked, 
receiving  a  cold  salutation  from  the  gentleman,  in  return  for 
my  own  bow,  the  first  sign  of  recognition  that  had  passed 
between  us,  "  I  will  round-to,  myself,  and  send  a  boat  for 
the  box." 

This  proposal  drew  all  eyes  towards  the  skipper,  who  was 
still  leaning  against  his  tiller,  smoking  for  life  or  death.  I 
was  not  favourably  received,  extorting  a  grunt  in  reply,  that 
any  one  could  understand  denoted  dissent.  The  pipe  was 
slowly  removed,  and  the  private  opinion  of  this  personage 
was  pretty  openly  expressed,  in  his  Dutchified  dialect. 

"  If  a  body  coult  get  a  wint  for  der  askin',  dis  might  do 
very  well,"  he  said  ;  "  but  nobody  rounts-to  mit  a  fair 
wind." 

I  have  always  remarked  that  they  who  have  used  a  dia 
lect  different  from  the  common  forms  of  speech  in  their 
youth,  and  come  afterwards  to  correct  it,  by  intercourse 
with  the  world,  usually  fall  back  into  their  early  infirmities 
in  moments  of  trial,  perplexity,  or  anger.  This  is  easily 
explained.  Habit  has  become  a  sort  of  nature,  in  their 
childhood,  and  it  is  when  most  tried  that  we  are  the  most 
natural.  Then,  this  skipper,  an  Albany — or  Al&owny  man, 
as  he  would  probably  have  styled  himself,  had  got  down  the 
river  as  far  as  Sing-Sing,  and  had  acquired  a  tolerable 
English ;  but,  being  now  disturbed,  he  fell  back  upon  his 


496  AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 

original  mode  of  speaking,  the  certain  proof  that  he  would 
never  give  in.  I  saw  at  once  the  hopelessness  of  attempting 
to  persuade  one  of  his  school,  and  had  begun  to  devise  some 
other  scheme  for  getting  the  box  on  board,  when  to  my  sur 
prise,  and  not  a  little  to  my  concern,  I  saw  Andrew  Drew- 
ett,  first  taking  the  box  from  his  mother,  step  upon  the  end 
of  our  main-boom,  and  move  along  the  spar  with  the  evi 
dent  intention  to  walk  as  far  as  our  deck  and  deliver  Lucy 
her  property  with  his  own  hands.  The  whole  thing  oc 
curred  so  suddenly,  that  there  was  no  time  for  remonstrance. 
Young  gentlemen  who  are  thoroughly  in  love,  are  not  often 
discreet  in  matters  connected  with  their  devotion  to  their 
mistresses.  I  presume  Drewett  saw  the  boom  placed  so 
favourably  as  to  tempt  him,  and  he  fancied  it  would  be  a 
thing  to  mention  to  carry  a  lady  her  work-box  across  a 
bridge  that  was  of  so  precarious  a  footing.  Had  the  spar 
lain  on  the  ground,  it  would  certainly  have  been  no  exploit 
at  all  to  for  any  young  man  to  walk  its  length,  carrying  his 
arms  full  of  work-boxes ;  but  it  was  a  very  different  matter 
when  the  same  feat  had  to  be  performed  on  a  sloop's  boom 
in  its  place,  suspended  over  the  water,  with  the  sail  set,  and 
the  vessel  in  motion.  This  Drewett  soon  discovered,  for, 
advancing  a  step  or  two,  he  grasped  the  topping-lift,  which 
luckily  for  him  happened  to  be  taut,  for  a  support.  All 
this  occurred  before  there  was  time  for  remonstrance,  or 
even  for  thought.  At  the  same  instant  Neb,  in  obedience 
to  a  sign  previously  given  by  me,  had  put  the  helm  down  a 
little,  and  the  boom-end  was  already  twenty  feet  from  the 
quarter-deck  of  the  Orpheus. 

Of  course,  all  the  women  screamed,  or  exclaimed,  on 
some  key  or  other.  Poor  Mrs.  Drewett  hid  her  face,  and 
began  to  moan  her  son  as  lost.  I  did  not  dare  look  at 
Lucy,  who  remained  quiet  as  to  voice,  after  the  first  invol 
untary  exclamation,  and  as  immovable  as  a  statue.  Luckily 
her  face  was  from  me.  As  Drewett  was  evidently  discom 
posed,  I  thought  it  best,  however,  to  devise  something  not 
only  for  his  relief,  but  for  that  of  Lucy's  box,  which  was  in 
quite  as  much  jeopardy  as  the  young  man,  himself;  more 
so,  indeed,  if  the  latter  could  swim.  I  was  on  the  point  of 
calling  out  to  Drewett  to  hold  on,  and  I  would  cause  the 
boom-end  to  reach  over  the  Orpheus's  main-deck,  after 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  497 

which  he  might  easily  drop  down  among  his  friends,  when 
Neb,  finding  some  one  to  take  the  helm,  suddenly  stood  at 
my  side. 

"  He  drop  dat  box,  sartain,  Masser  Mile,"  half- whispered 
the  negro ;  "  he  leg  begin  to  shake  already,  and  he  won'er- 
ful  skear'd !" 

"  I  would  not  have  that  happen  for  a  good  deal — can  you 
save  it,  Neb  ?" 

"  Sartain,  sir.  Only  hab  to  run  out  on  'e  boom  and  bring 
it  in,  and  gib  it  Miss  Lucy ;  she  mighty  partic'lar  about  dat 
werry  box,  Masser  Mile,  as  I  see  a  hundrer  time,  and  more 
too." 

"  Well,  lay  out,  boy,  and  bring  it  in, — and  look  to  your 
footing,  Neb." 

This  was  all  Neb  wanted.  The  fellow  had  feet  shaped  a 
good  deal  like  any  other  aquatic  bird,  with  the  essential  dif 
ference,  however,  that  no  small  part  of  his  foundation  had 
been  laid  abaft  the  perpendicular  of  the  tendon  Achilles, 
and,  being  without  shoes,  he  could  nearly  encircle  a  small 
spar  in  his  grasp.  Often  and  often  had  I  seen  Neb  run  out 
on  a  top-sail-yard,  the  ship  pitching  heavily,  catching  at  the 
lift ;  and  it  was  a  mere  trifle  after  that,  to  run  out  on  a  spar 
as  large  as  the  Wallingford's  main-boom.  A  tolerably  dis 
tinctive  scream  from  Chloe,  first  apprised  me  that  the  negro 
was  in  motion.  Looking  in  that  direction,  I  saw  him  walk 
ing  steadily  along  the  boom,  notwithstanding  Drewett's  loud 
remonstrances,  and  declarations  that  he  wanted  no  assist 
ance,  until  he  reached  the  spot  where  the  young  gentleman 
stood  grasping  the  lift,  with  his  legs  submitting  to  more  tre- 
mour  than  was  convenient.  Neb  now  grinned,  looked  as 
amiable  as  possible,  held  out  his  hand,  and  revealed  the 
object  of  his  visit. 

"  Masser  Mile  t'ink  'e  gentleum  better  gib  me  Miss  Lucy 
box"  —  said  Neb,  as  politely  as  he  knew  how. 

I  believe  in  my  soul  that  Drewett  could  have  kissed  Neb, 
so  glad  was  he  to  obtain  this  little  relief.  The  box  was 
yielded  without  the  slightest  objection,  Neb  receiving  it  with 
a  bow ;  after  which  the  negro  turned  round  as  coolly  as  if 
he  were  on  the  deck,  and  walked  deliberately  and  steadily 
in  to  the  mast.  He  stopped  an  instant  just  at  the  small  of 
the  spar,  to  look  back  at  Drewett,  who  was  saying  some- 
42* 


498  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

thing  to  pacify  his  mother ;  and  I  observed  that,  as  he  stood 
with  his  heels  in  a  line,  the  toes  nearly  met  underneath  the 
boom,  which  his  feet  grasped  something  in  the  manner  of 
talons.  A  deep  sigh  reached  my  ear,  as  Neb  bounded  lightly 
on  deck,  and  I  knew  whence  it  came  by  the  exclamation 
of — 

"  De  /eZ-ler !" 

As  for  Neb,  he  advanced  with  his  prize,  which  he  offered 
to  Lucy  with  one  of  his  best  bows,  but  in  a  way  to  show  he 
was  not  conscious  of  having  performed  any  unusual  exploit. 
Lucy  handed  the  box  to  Chloe,  without  averting  her  eyes 
from  Drewett,  in  whose  situation  she  manifested  a  good  deal 
more  concern  than  I  liked,  or  fancied  he  deserved. 

"  Thank  you,  Mr.  Drewett,"  she  said,  affecting  to  think 
the  box  had  been  recovered  altogether  by  his  address ;  "  it 
is  now  safe,  and  there  is  no  longer  any  necessity  for  your 
coming  here.  Let  Mr.  Wallingford  do  what  he  says"  —  I 
had  mentioned  in  a  low  voice,  the  practicability  of  my  own 
scheme  —  "  and  return  to  your  own  sloop." 

But,  two  things  now  interposed  to  the  execution  of  this  very 
simple  expedient.  The  first  was  Drewett's  pride,  blended 
with  a  little  obstinacy,  and  the  other  was  the  "  Alfeon-ny" 
skipper's  pride,  blended  with  a  good  deal  of  obstinacy.  The 
first  did  not  like  to  retreat,  after  Neb  had  so  clearly  demon 
strated  it  was  no  great  matter  to  walk  on  the  boom  ;  and  the 
latter,  soured  by  the  manner  in  which  we  had  outsailed  him, 
and  fancying  Andrew  had  deserted  to  get  on  board  a  faster 
vessel,  resented  the  whole  by  sheering  away  from* us  to  the 
distance  of  a  hundred  yards.  I  saw  that  there  remained  but 
a  single  expedient,  and  set  about  adopting  it  without  further 
delay. 

"  Take  good  hold  of  the  lift,  Mr.  Drewett,  and  steady 
yourself  with  both  hands ;  ease  away  the  peak  halyards  to 
tauten  that  lift  a  little  more,  forward.  Now,  one  of  you 
stand  by  to  ease  off  the  guy  handsomely,  and  the  rest  come 
aft  to  the  main-sheet.  Look  out  for  yourself,  Mr.  Drewett; 
we  are  about  to  haul  in  the  boom,  when  it  will  be  a  small 
matter  to  get  you  in,  upon  the  taffrail.  Stand  by  to  luff 
handsomely,  so  as  to  keep  the  boom  as  steady  as  possible." 

But  Drewett  clamorously  protested  against  our  doing  any 
thing  of  the  sort.  He  was  getting  used  to  his  situation,  and 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  499 

intended  to  come  in  Neb-fashion,  in  a  minute  more.  All  he 
asked  was  not  to  be  hurried. 

"  No — no — no — touch  nothing  I  entreat  of  you,  Captain 
Wallingford"— he  said,  earnestly.  "  If  that  black  can  do  it, 
surely  I  ought  to  do  it,  too." 

"  But  the  black  has  claws,  and  you  have  none,  sir ;  then 
he  is  a  sailor,  and  used  to  such  things,  and  you  are  none, 
sir.  Moreover,  he  was  barefooted,  while  you  have  got  on 
stiff,  and  I  dare  say  slippery  boots." 

"  Yes,  the  boots  are  an  encumbrance.  If  I  could  only 
throw  them  off,  I  should  do  well  enough.  As  it  is,  however, 
I  hope  to  have  the  honour  of  shaking  you  by  the  hand,  Miss 
Hardinge,  without  the  disgrace  of  being  helped." 

Mr.  Hardinge  here  expostulated,  but  all  in  vain ;  for  I  saw 
plainly  enough  Drewett  was  highly  excited,  and  that  he  was 
preparing  for  a  start.  These  signs  were  now  so  apparent 
that  all  of  us  united  our  voices  in  remonstrances  ;  and  Lucy 
said  imploringly  to  me — "  Do  not  let  him  move,  Miles  —  I 
have  heard  him  say  he  cannot  swim." 

It  was  too  late.  Pride,  mortified  vanity,  obstinacy,  love, 
or  what  you  will,  rendered  the  young  man  deaf,  and  away 
he  went,  abandoning  the  lift,  his  sole  protection.  I  saw, 
the  moment  he  quitted  his  grasp,  that  he  would  never  reach 
the  mast,  and  made  my  arrangements  accordingly.  I  called 
to  Marble  to  stand  by  to  luff;  and,  just  as  the  words  passed 
my  lips,  a  souse  into  the  water  told  the  whole  story.  The 
first  glance  at  poor  Drewett's  frantic  manner  of  struggling 
told  me  that  Lucy  was  really  aware  of  his  habits,  and  that 
he  could  not  swim.  I  was  in  light  duck,  jacket  and  trowsers, 
with  seaman's  pumps ;  and  placing  a  foot  on  the  rail,  I 
alighted  alongside  of  the  drowning  young  man,  just  as  he 
went  under.  Well  assured  he  would  reappear,  I  waited  for 
that,  and  presently  I  got  a  view  of  his  hair,  within  reach  of 
my  arm,  and  I  grasped  it,  in  a  way  to  turn  him  on  his  back, 
and  bring  his  face  uppermost.  At  this  moment  the  sloop 
was  gliding  away  from  us,  Marble  having  instantly  put  the 
helm  hard  down,  in  order  to  round-to.  As  I  afterwards 
learned,  the  state  of  the  case  was  no  sooner  understood  in 
the  other  sloop,  than  the  A\bon-ny  men  gave  in,  and  imitated 
the  Wallingford. 


500  AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE. 

There  was  no  time  for  reflection.  As  soon  as  Drewett'g 
hair  was  in  my  grasp,  I  raised  his  head  from  the  water,  by 
an  effort  that  forced  me  under  it,  to  let  him  catch  his  breath ; 
and  then  relaxed  the  power  by  which  it  had  been  done,  to 
come  up  myself.  I  had  done  this  to  give  him  a  moment  to 
recover  his  recollection,  in  the  hope  he  would  act  reason 
ably  ;  and  I  now  desired  him  to  lay  his  two  hands  on  my 
shoulders,  permit  his  body  to  sink  as  low  as  possible  and 
breathe,  and  trust  the  rest  to  me.  If  the  person  in  danger 
can  be  made  to  do  this,  an  ordinarily  good  swimmer  could  tow 
him  a  mile,  without  any  unusual  effort.  But  the  breathing 
spell  afforded  to  Drewett  had  the  effect  just  to  give  him 
strength  to  struggle  madly  for  existence,  without  aiding  his 
reason.  On  the  land,  he  would  have  been  nothing  in  my 
hands ;  but,  in  the  water,  the  merest  boy  may  become  for 
midable.  God  forgive  me,  if  I  do  him  injustice !  but  I  have 
sometimes  thought,  since,  that  Drewett  was  perfectly  con 
scious  who  I  was,  and  that  he  gave  some  vent  to  his  jealous 
distrust  of  Lucy's  feelings  towards  me.  This  may  be  all 
imagination ;  but  I  certainly  heard  the  words  "  Lucy," 
«  Wallingford,"  "  Clawbonny,"  "  hateful,"  muttered  by  the 
man,  even  as  he  struggled  there  for  life.  The  advantage 
given  him,  by  turning  to  allow  him  to  put  his  hands  on  my 
shoulders,  liked  to  have  cost  me  dear.  Instead  of  doing  aa 
I  directed,  he  grasped  my  neck  with  both  arms,  and  seemed 
to  wish  to  mount  on  my  head,  forcing  his  own  shoulders 
quite  out  of  water,  and  mine,  by  that  much  weight,  beneath 
it.  It  was  while  we  were  thus  placed,  his  mouth  within  an 
inch  or  two  of  my  very  ear,  that  I  heard  the  words  muttered 
which  have  been  mentioned.  It  is  possible,  however,  that 
he  was  unconscious  of  that  which  terror  and  despair  extorted 
from  him. 

I  saw  no  time  was  to  be  lost,  and  my  efforts  became  des 
perate.  I  first  endeavoured  to  swim  with  this  great  encum 
brance ;  but  k  was  useless.  The  strength  of  Hercules  could 
not  long  have  buoyed  up  the  under  body  of  such  a  load, 
sufficiently  to  raise  the  nostrils  for  breath ;  and  the  convul 
sive  twitches  of  Drewett's  arms  were  near  strangling  me.  1 
must  throw  him  off,  or  drown.  Abandoning  the  attempt  to 
swim,  I  seized  his  hands  with  mine,  and  endeavoured  to 


AFLOAT     AND     ASHORE.  501 

loosen  his  grasp  of  my  neck.  Of  course  we  both  sank 
while  I  was  thus  engaged ;  for  it  was  impossible  to  keep  my 
head  above  water,  by  means  of  my  feet  alone,  with  a  man 
of  some  size  riding,  from  his  shoulders  up,  above  the  level 
of  my  chin. 

I  can  scarcely  describe  what  followed.  I  confess  I  thought 
no  longer  of  saving  Drewett's  life,  but  only  of  saving  my 
own.  We  struggled  there  in  the  water  like  the  fiercest  ene 
mies,  each  aiming  for  the  mastery,  as,  if  one  were  to  live, 
the  other  must  die.  We  sank,  and  rose  to  the  surface  for 
air,  solely  by  my  efforts,  no  less  than  three  times ;  Drewett 
getting  the  largest  benefits  by  the  latter,  thus  renewing  his 
strength ;  while  mine,  great  as  it  was  by  nature,  began  gra 
dually  to  fail.  A  struggle  so  terrific  could  not  last  long. 
We  sank  a  fourth  time,  and  I  felt  it  was  not  to  rise  again, 
when  relief  came  from  an  unexpected  quarter.  From  boy 
hood,  my  father  had  taught  me  the  important  lesson  of  keep 
ing  my  eyes  open  under  water.  By  means  of  this  practice, 
I  not  only  felt,  but  saw  the  nature  of  the  tremendous  strug 
gle  that  was  going  on.  It  also  gave  me  a  slight  advantage 
over  Drewett,  who  closed  his  eyes,  by  enabling  me  to  see 
how  to  direct  my  own  exertions.  While  sinking,  as  I  be 
lieved,  for  the  last  time,  I  saw  a  large  object  approaching 
me  in  the  water,  which,  in  the  confusion  of  the  moment,  I 
took  for  a  shark,  though  sharks  never  ascended  the  Hudson 
so  high,  and  were  even  rare  at  New  York.  There  it  was, 
however,  swimming  towards  us,  and  even  descending  lower 
as  if  to  pass  beneath,  in  readiness  for  the  fatal  snap.  Be 
neath  it  did  pass,  and  I  felt  it  pressing  upward,  raising 
Drewett  and  myself  to  the  surface.  As  I  got  a  glimpse  of 
the  light,  and  a  delicious  draught  of  air,  Drewett  was  drawn 
from  my  neck  by  Marble,  whose  encouraging  voice  sounded 
ike  music  in  my  ears.  At  the  next  instant  my  shark 
emerged,  puffing  like  a  porpoise ;  and  then  I  heard — 
"  Hole  on,  Masser  Mile — here  he  nigger  close  by  !" 
I  was  dragged  into  the  boat,  I  scarce  knew  how,  and  lay 
down  completely  exhausted ;  while  my  late  companion 
seemed  to  me  to  be  a  lifeless  corpse.  In  a  moment,  Neb,  drip 
ping  like  a  black  river  god,  and  glistening  like  a  wet  bottle, 
placed  himself  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  took  my  head  into 


502 


AFLOAT      AND      ASHORE. 


his  lap,  and  began  to  squeeze  the  water  from  my  hair,  and 
to  dry  my  face  with  some  one's  handkerchief— I  trust  it  was 
not  his  own. 

"  Pull  away,  lads,  for  the  sloop,"  said  Marble,  as  soon  as 
everybody  was  out  of  the  river.  «  This  gentleman  seems 
to  have  put  on  the  hatches  for  the  last  time— as  for  Miles, 
he  '11  never  drown  in  fresh  water." 


THE  END, 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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